India vs South Africa, Highlights, Day 4 Kotla Test: Hashim Amla-AB de Villiers Defy Virat Kohli's Quest for 3-0 Series Victory
Ajinkya Rahane was the star on day four as he joined an elite club of greats. South Africa have come out with dogged spirit and resistance on day four. It was an extraordinary day as Hashim Amla and AB de Villiers defied India. Virat Kohli tried all options but he failed to break the stand. Catch all the highlights here
Ajinkya Rahane's twin centuries were the highlight of the day as India continued their dominance. Set a target of 481, South Africa decided to grind India's bowlers to the ground. Hashim Amla and AB de Villiers' partnership defied India and ensured that the match entered the final day. Relive all the highlights here. (SCORECARD | NEWS | VIDEOS):
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16:30 hrs IST: That is stumps and South Africa have ended on 72/2 after 72 overs! Unbelievable! The run-rate only touched one because de Villiers hit a boundary in the last over. Kohli tried everything but he could not break the stand. The Proteas will be hoping to continue in the same vein in the final day of the series.
16:19 hrs IST: The final over of the day is done. However, with 10 minutes remaining, there will be some additional overs.
16:11 hrs IST: The light has faded but India continue with spinners. There will be a surplus of overs bowled today.
16:03 hrs IST: There are only five overs left in the day but India might end up bowling a surplus of overs. In the previous two days, they had struggled to bowl the full quota of overs.
15:56 hrs IST: Amla currently has the third lowest strike-rate for an innings in Tests. The minimum criterion is over 150 balls.
15:47 hrs IST: Vijay is currently having a bowl, but the Monk is surely seething from within. Check out why here.
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15:36 hrs IST: The Indian openers are actually bowling in tandem. Vijay and Dhawan are wheeling away but South Africa are not being lured into the trap.
15:27 hrs IST: Shikhar Dhawan is into the attack. The partnership, which was worth 0 off 62 balls, takes off when Amla smashes a boundary. However, a couple of balls later, Amla is dropped by Pujara as the ball goes over him. The batsman finishes in style by lacing a full toss to deep cover.
15:18 hrs IST: India have bowled a total of 50 overs. South Africa themselves have not crossed 50. AB de Villiers has still not gotten off the mark. Amla has now gobbled up 150 deliveries, but has scored only 11.
15:09 hrs IST: OUCH! Hashim Amla has gotten hit on the fingers by an Umesh Yadav delivery that leapt up. He has taken his gloves off and is getting some medical treatment. South Africa will be hoping that it is not too serious.
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15:02 hrs IST: AB de Villiers is also taking his time to get off the mark. Will he curb his attacking instinct and grind out like he did in Adelaide 2012 against Australia or will he take the attack to the spinners?
14:53 hrs IST: Just in: The IPL Governing Council to decide on the two new teams that will replace Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals on Tuesday.
14:51 hrs IST: In the space of one over, Ashwin continues to trouble AB de Villiers. He beats him with a legbreak and then troubles him with drift and flight.
14:45 hrs IST: WICKET! Finally, Ashwin gets the breakthrough and he breaks the dogged stand. He cleans up Bavuma with a delivery that straightens and the partnership ends. Muted celebrations but Ashwin is pumped up. Bavuma gone for 34.
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14:40 hrs IST: Umesh Yadav delivers a beamer and he apologises. Amla starts off the session well with a boundary off Ashwin through point.
14:35 hrs IST: Welcome back for the final session. India will be desperate to break this stand while Bavuma and Amla will be desperate to hang on.
14:17 hrs IST: Meanwhile, just before the tea break, news came in that Murali Vijay has been fined 30 per cent of his match fee for showing dissent. On the third day, Vijay was not happy when he gloves a Morne Morkel bouncer to the keeper. As he walked off, he pointed at his arm guard and that has invited the fine from match referee Jeff Crowe.
14:10 hrs IST: That is Tea! Only 35 runs have been scored in the session. Amla and Bavuma have really dug in and India are struggling to dislodge them.
14:01 hrs IST: Amla has brought up his century! A century of balls that is. This is a solid partnership of epic proportions now.
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13:51 hrs IST: South Africa seem to be the only team where playing slow and grinding cricket has helped them in the past. Although it backfired in Nagpur, for many points in time, the Indian bowlers and skipper Kohli were running out of ideas.
13:41 hrs IST: Ishant slipped in his previous over as he completed his delivery stride. The footmarks created by the spinners has created an uneven popping crease for the fast bowlers.
13:36 hrs IST: Bavuma finally gets a move on and he guides Ishant Sharma to third man for a couple of boundaries. Looks like he has gotten his eye in.
13:30 hrs IST: The partnership between these two is only two but they have occupied the crease for over 20 overs. One will ask, where was the application before this in the series?
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13:19 hrs IST: Ashwin and Jadeja are just wheeling away quickly. We might not have an issue with overs today.
13:10 hrs IST: Drinks time and South Africa have played out the first session well. In fairness, when the chips are down, South Africa just grind the opposition down with some slow batting. Australia were at the receiving end twice while Sri Lanka could not get over South Africa in 2014.
13:04 hrs IST: Finally, Amla off the mark after 44 balls thanks to a thick inside edge off Jadeja. Although he has gotten off the mark, he still has a huge Mount Everest to climb.
12:54 hrs IST: We are in the midst of a blockathon. Both Bavuma and Amla are content on just blocking. This is just attritional cricket.
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12:45 hrs IST: The first four after 11 overs and it comes from Temba Bavuma's edge. South Africa have crawled 11/1 after 13 overs, run-rate still under one. Ashwin into the attack now.
12:35 hrs IST: 11 overs up and South Africa have crawled to 7/1. As far as eating up overs are concerned, they are doing a fine job. As far as run-scoring is concerned, they are lagging behind.
12:26 hrs IST: Three overs so far and only one run. The pressure is simply mounting on South Africa and it could only be a matter of time before a wicket falls.
12:17 hrs IST: It is all out pace from India after lunch. Ishant and Umesh Yadav have begun the session and the South African batsmen are facing some discomfort due to the extra bounce.
12:09 hrs IST: Welcome back for the final session. South Africa are facing an uphill task after the dismissal of Dean Elgar. Will they be able to survive the day?
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11:30 hrs IST: That will be lunch on day four and India have stamped their class. Dean Elgar's miserable series has ended as he edged R Ashwin to slip. South Africa need a further 476 runs for victory. However, all attention will be on Rahane and his feat of scoring twin centuries. You can read about the achievement here.
11:22 hrs IST: Elgar gets going with a boundary off Ashwin. However, all the talk will be about Rahane's magnificent twin achievements.
11:16 hrs IST: Ashwin will open the bowling from the other end. Slip and silly point in place. Will South Africa go into lunch without losing a wicket?
11:11 hrs IST: The South African openers are out in the middle and Ishant will start off proceedings. This is a testing period before lunch.
11:02 hrs IST: There it is! What a moment for Rahane. He has destroyed his hone jinx by becoming only the fifth Indian in history to score a century in each innings. Take a bow! India have also declared. Target for South Africa 481.
10:54 hrs IST: Rahane is coming closer to his century. With each run, the Kotla erupts. Kohli is looking on eagerly from the balcony. We might not be far from the declaration
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10:45 hrs IST: With two big sixes, Rahane enters the 90s. Can he create a bit of history here? He is on the verge of scoring two centuries in the match.
10:36 hrs IST: Rahane and Saha have started to show some urgency. Maybe, a declaration is looming?
10:27 hrs IST: Rahane is looking comfortable out there. Can he score back-to-back centuries? It will be special for Jinks!
10:21 hrs IST: Kohli notched up his first major contribution in the series. The reason was due to a technical modification which he made. Read all about it here.
10:12 hrs IST: The ball is staying low on the pitch now. Rahane is slowly pushing on as India eye a quick declaration
10:03 hrs IST: No signs that India are going to declare any time soon. Wriddhiman Saha has come out to bat and Rahane has slowed down. Still plenty of time in this Test match.
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09:55 hrs IST: WICKET! The Kotla crowd are stunned into silence. There will be no glory for the Indian skipper today. Kohli lbw Abbott 88.
Good length ball that angles in on middle and leg stump, it keeps low as Kohli looks to work it to the leg side but he misses it and is given the marching orders, the umpire checked for the no-ball and this time, Abbott's foot is behind the line.
09:45 hrs IST: Rahane has come out all guns blazing. He carves Abbott past the vacant gully region to hit his second boundary. The plan looks to be simple. Get some quick runs and get the lead anywhere close to 450-500 before they insert South Africa in.
09:39 hrs IST: Morne Morkel to start off from the other end and Kohli gets going by tucking him to square leg. However, it is Ajinkya Rahane who sets the tone superbly with a crisp boundary through deep point.
09:30 hrs IST: Kyle Abbott to start off proceedings. The second new ball is only one over old and he is getting some generous swing.
09:20 hrs IST: A warm welcome to day four of the fourth Test between India and South Africa from the Feroz Shah Kotla. Today promises to be a Sunday special for Indian skipper Virat Kohli, the local boy who is on the verge of scoring his first century at his home ground. With the lead already past 400, it is only a matter of time before Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja are unleashed on the hapless Proteas.
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Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane stole the show on day three as they notched up the first century partnership of the series. Kohli broke his lean patch by scoring his first fifty after eight innings while Rahane continued the good work to score a fifty after smashing a century in the first innings. India's lead has crossed 400 and things are falling into place.
The plan for day four will be simple. Kohli will be looking to reach his century quickly and India will be aiming to declare with their lead close to 450. They will look to unleash Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin on a deck that is becoming increasingly sluggish.(Has Rohit Sharma Played his Last Test?)
South Africa will have to bat out of their skins if they have to survive for the remaining days. In Nagpur, Faf du Plessis and Hashim Amla showed grit and determination as they battled for a long time. On this deck, they will be hoping that the rest of the batsmen chip in after a woeful performance in the first innings.
India will be keeping the pressure tight. On this deck in the fourth innings, Jadeja will be a lethal proposition. With the ball tending to reverse as the day progresses, South Africa will also have to deal with Umesh Yadav's skills with the old ball.
The hosts already wrapped up the series in Nagpur, but they will be determined to make it 3-0, which will give them their biggest series victory over South Africa.