After bowling the tourists out for 121 on the second day, Kohli opted against enforcing the follow-on and ended the day unbeaten on 83 as he and Ajinkya Rahane saw India to 190 for four at the close – a lead of 403.
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Ashwin, now the leading wicket-taker in the series, hit Tahir for a six to bring up his sixth Test fifty to prove he was no dud with the bat either.
Thereafter it was a battle of attrition as India scored 190/4 in the 81 overs that were possible before bad light made its daily intervention. Pujara was the next to go as he was cleaned u by Imran Tahir, who picked up his first wicket of the innings.
They do, however, have the inspiration of previous fourth innings rearguard actions. India therefore lead South Africa by 403 runs.
After the dismissals of Vijay and Rohit, Birthday boy Shikhar Dhawan(20) and Cheteshwar Pujara(27), however rebuilt the Indian innings as the duo forged a 43- run partnership for the third wicket to get India past 50 run in the first session of day three.
With India in such a commanding position and Kohli nearing his century at his home ground, it will be interesting to see whether the hosts invite South Africa to bat on Sunday morning or continue to bat themselves.
Morkel struck again with the first ball of his next over to dismiss Rohit Sharma for a golden duck, the ball zipping past the bat and flattening off-stump for Sharma’s third single figure score of the series. Morne Morkel and Kyle Abbot had their tails up, and both bowled their hearts out and appealed their lungs out in a fiery spell that embodied all that is good about Test cricket.
Vijay eventually fell in the fourth over, when Morkel had him caught behind.
Kohli as a skipper has already guided India to a historic series win against Proteas but his run as a batsman had been below average with 112 runs in five innings.
“I think the yorker was a bit of an out of the box thing, a kind of spur of the moment”, said Morkel’s pace partner Kyle Abbott.
India could have been in bigger trouble when Kohli, then on five, was ruled caught behind only to be called back after TV replays showed the leg-spinner had overstepped.
Shikhar Dhawan continued to bat as cautiously as he had done in the first innings, leaving resolutely outside off stump, and defending Dane Piedt’s offbreaks and straighter ones with a degree of trepidation.
Fall of wickets: 1-4 (Vijay, 4.6 overs), 2-8 (R Sharma, 6.1), 3-53 (Dhawan, 28.6), 4-57 (Pujara, 31.1). Twice in one Abbott over Pujara collected edged boundaries – one wide of the slips, the other past Dane Vilas to fine leg – while Dhawan repeatedly had to thrust his pad at Dane Piedt deliveries that pitched well wide of off stump.
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First it was Pujara (who played 79 balls) who tried to cut one from Tahir that stayed low and knocked his off-stump.
