PANTEMIC RAGES

Series hanging in the balance after a brilliant hundred from Rishabh

CAPE TOWN: Rishabh Pant was fearless without being careless during a brilliant hundred in the most adverse circumstances, but South Africa was on course for a memorable series win against India on a day when visiting skipper Virat Kohli was left fuming due to a contentious DRS decision in the third and final Test here.

Pant’s (100 not out off 139 balls, 6 fours, 4 sixes) fourth Test hundred constituted for more than 50 per cent of India’s shoddy second innings total of 198 with Kohli’s 29 off 143 balls (4 fours) being the second highest individual score.

With a target of 212 to chase, South Africa was 101 for 2 at stumps on Day Three as its skipper Dean Elgar (30 off 96 balls, 3 fours) was finally out while tickling down the leg side. With 111 runs left, the match is expected to end early on Friday either way but at this moment, the ‘Proteas’ is way ahead. No.3 Keegan Petersen (48 batting off 61 balls, 7 fours) is unbeaten at the crease for the host.

With eight batters failing to reach even double figures, no amount of excuses would be enough for India when it analyses the below-par show. The new team management’s decision to carry over-the-hill out-of-form seniors looks to have only compounded the problems. The job is up to the bowlers now.

A DRS howler creates controversy

It was in the 21st over that Ravichandran Ashwin flighted one which straightened enough after pitching as Elgar was beaten while trying to play a forward defensive stroke. Straight umpire Marais Erasmus gave it leg before but Elgar went for DRS, which surprisingly ruled that the ball would miss the leg stump.

It seemed a howler and more so a technical error, which left the India team angry. Funnily enough Elgar, after seeing that he was beaten, had started walking before he came back. Kohli kicked the ground in disgust and then used the stump microphone to good effect. One of the players (not confirmed) even said: “Whole country is against eleven players.”

Pant steals the show

The day belonged to Pant as he scored a hundred which was as good as one would ever see and what stood out was his immaculate shot selection. There was a rasping square cut off a rising one from Kagiso Rabada (3/53). There was an audacious down the track cover drive off Duanne Olivier and a six over long-on off Keshav Maharaj just an over before lunch. These were all shots that one associates with the dashing keeper-batter but what was exemplary was his use of discretion as to what kind of deliveries he would attack.

Brief scores: India 223 & 198 in 67.3 overs (R Pant 100*, M Jansen 4/36, L Ngidi 3/21, K Rabada 3/53) vs South Africa 210 & 101/2 in 29.4 overs (K Petersen 48*)