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Durban - Bad light has halted play with South Africa on 111 for three on the third day of the second Test against India at Sahara Stadium Kingsmead in Durban on Tuesday.
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The end of the over sees the umpires get together and they decide it is too dark to continue for the time being and the players are off. South Africa need 192 runs to win the match.
22nd over: Kallis is off the mark with a boundary as he punches a Harbhajan delivery through the covers for four.
20th over: AB decides to take the attack to Harbhajan as he shuffles down the wicket before depositing a delivery over deep midwicket for six.
17th over: WICKET - Disaster for South Africa as Hashim Amla (16) falls. It was a terrible shot from Amla as he swished at a wide delivery from Sreesanth to offer up a simple catch to Dhoni behind the stumps. The Proteas have lost three wickets for 19 runs.
16th over: WICKET - Not the start that South Africa wanted after tea as Alviro Petersen falls for 26. Petersen goes back to a Harbhajan delivery and edges a short ball onto his thigh pad. The ball loops up to Pujara at short leg and Petersen is on his way.
15th over: Good looking shot from Amla as he drives a Sreesanth delivery through the covers for four. Amla then unveils an even better shot with a straight drive back past the bowler for four.
Second session
An attacking opening stand between Graeme Smith and Alviro Petersen saw South Africa to 70 for one at tea.
Smith and Petersen put on 63 runs for the first wicket before Smith, who was in a particularly aggressive mood as he raced to 37 off 38 balls, fell in the over before the break when he skied an attempted pull shot off paceman Sreesanth and was caught by keeper Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
Petersen reached the safety of tea unbeaten on 24 while Hashim Amla was on six.
The Proteas took tea needing a further 233 runs to win the match.
India were finally dismissed for 228, 40 minutes after lunch, when VVS Laxman fell agonisingly close to a well-deserved century when he became the last wicket to fall.
Laxman batted with authority on a wicket which continued to offer pace and bounce to the seam bowlers and he made his way to 96 off 171 balls with 12 fours before he slashed at a short ball from Dale Steyn to offer up a catch to keeper Mark Boucher.
Laxman and Zaheer Khan (27) had their 70-run eighth-wicket stand ended soon after lunch when Zaheer edged a delivery from left-arm spinner Paul Harris to AB de Villiers at second slip.
Ishant Sharma failed to score before he popped a short ball from Kallis to Amla at short leg as India ended their innings holding a lead of 302 runs.
Morne Morkel ended the innings with figures of three for 47 while Lonwabo Tsotsobe picked up three for 43.
India innings
71st over: WICKET - A sad end to a fine innings as Laxman cuts at a short, wide delivery from Steyn to send a faint edge through to keeper Boucher. Laxman is out for 96 off 171 balls but his efforts have helped India to a lead of 302 runs.
70th over: Laxman is looking to reach his century before he runs out of partners and he produces a sweep shot off Harris that heads off to the fine leg boundary for four.
69th over: WICKET - Jacques Kallis removes Ishant Sharma (0) with a superb bouncer that the batsman can only fend to Hashim Amla at short leg. India lead by 297 runs.
64th over: WICKET - Paul Harris makes a vital breakthrough for SA as he has Zaheer Khan (27) caught by AB de Villiers at second slip. Zaheer looked to play a delivery on to the on side but the ball found the leading edge of the bat before nestling into AB’s hands. That snaps a 70-run partnership for the eighth-wicket.
First session
VVS Laxman played an innings of some class to lead India to 218 for seven at lunch.
Laxman, who began the day on 23, brought up the first half-century of the match to reach the safety of lunch unbeaten on 86 off 140 balls while his knock included 11 fours.
The elegant batsman reached his 49th test fifty off 95 deliveries while he shared in two vital partnerships as India stretched their lead to an ever imposing 292 runs.
Laxman and Zaheer Khan (27 not out) frustrated the Proteas’ attack with an unbeaten eight-wicket stand of 70 off 17.5 overs as India took a firm grip on the match.
The day had begun brightly for the home side and it took them just five minutes to achieve the first breakthrough when Cheteshwar Pujara (10) inside-edged a delivery from paceman Morne Morkel back on to his stumps after being caught in his crease by a well-directed short ball.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni (21) and Laxman then combined for a sixth-wicket stand of 48 runs before Dhoni wafted at a delivery from left-arm swing bowler Lonwabo Tsotsobe to send an outside edge through to keeper Mark Boucher.
Harbhajan Singh (4) did not last long before edging a Morkel delivery to Jacques Kallis at second slip before Laxman and Zaheer conspired to frustrate the home side.
However, Zaheer did enjoy a slice of luck when he appeared to be trapped leg-before by Dale Steyn only for umpire Steve Davis to turn the decision down because he felt that Zaheer had inside edged the ball.
But television replays suggested that Zaheer had been trapped plumb in front of his stumps.
Laxman looked completely at ease at the crease and he looked a cut above the other batsmen on a wicket which still had some pace and bounce in it.
Tsotsobe went to lunch with figures of three for 43 off 13 overs while Morkel picked up three for 47 off 15 overs.
Scoreboard
Scoreboard at tea on day three of the second Test between South Africa and India at Kingsmead on Tuesday
Toss: South Africa
India first innings 205
South Africa first innings 131
India second innings (overnight 92/4)
V Sehwag c Boucher b Tsotsobe 32 (31b, 6x4)
M Vijay c Amla b Morkel 9 (27b, 1x4)
R Dravid c Boucher b Tsotsobe 2 (7b)
S Tendulkar c De Villiers b Steyn 6 (10b, 1x4)
VVS Laxman c Boucher b Steyn 96 (171b, 12x4)
C Pujara b Morkel 10 (56b, 1x4)
MS Dhoni c Boucher b Tsotsobe 21 (35b, 4x4)
H Singh c Kallis b Morkel 4 (7b)
Z Khan c de Villiers b Harris 27 (63b, 4x4)
I Sharma c Amla b Kallis 0 (16b)
S Sreesanth not out 0 (2b)
Extras: (b8, lb4, w9) 21
Total: (all out) 228 - 70.5 overs Fall of wickets: 1-42 (Sehwag 9.1ov), 2-44 (Vijay 10.3), 3-48 (Dravid 11.2),4-56 (Tendulkar 14.1), 5-93 (Pujara 31.5), 6-141 (Dhoni 41.6), 7-148 (Singh 44.1), 8-218 (Khan 63.4), 9-223 (Ishant 68.5), 10-228 (Laxman 70.5)
Bowling: Steyn 15.5-1-60-2 (2w), Morkel 15-1-47-3 (4w), Tsotsobe 13-3-43-3 (1w), Kallis 13-2-30-1 (1w), Harris 14-2-36-1
South Africa second innings
G Smith c Dhoni b Sreesanth 37 (38b, 5x4)
A Petersen not out 24 (39b, 4x4)
H Amla not out 6 (4b, 1x4)
Extras: (nb3) 3
Total: (for one wicket) 70 -- 13 overs
Fall of wickets: 1-63 (Smith 12.1)
Bowling: Khan 3-0-24-0, Sharma 5-0-21-0 (3nb), Sreesanth 4-0-20-1, Singh 1-0-5-0
