Centurion: Jasprit Bumrah produced scintillating show of pace bowling in the fag end of the day as India now need six wickets to win the first Test against South Africa. At stumps on day four, South Africa are 94/4 in 40.5 overs, still requiring 211 runs to win on day five.
After the final session began, Dean Elgar and Keegan Petersen began well with a boundary each. In the 13th over, Mohammed Siraj hit Petersen’s pads on the knee-roll. Given not out, India took the review but umpire’s call saved him. In his next over, Siraj got Petersen with an outswinger which squared him up and took the outer edge to the keeper Rishabh Pant’s right.
Siraj and Jasprit Bumrah got a few lifters, leaving Elgar to be like a cat on a hot tin roof and be resistant against everything coming at him. Elgar, along with Rassie van der Dussen, were stodgy and resolute in their partnership of 40 runs off 137 balls for the third wicket. It took a nip-backer from Bumrah to hit the top of off-stump as van der Dussen shouldered his arms, breaking a stubborn stand.
Elgar marched on to bring his half-century with a clip through square leg off Siraj. Bumrah closed day four with a perfect yorker to rattle nightwatchman Keshav Maharaj’s stumps.
Brief scores: India 327 in 105.3 overs and 174 in 50.3 overs (Rishabh Pant 34, KL Rahul 23; Kagiso Rabada 4/42, Marco Jansen 4/55) against South Africa 197 in 62.3 overs and 94/4 in 40.5 overs (Dean Elgar 52 not out, Jasprit Bumrah 2/22), South Africa need 211 runs to win.
IANS