India pile on the runs as Proteas stumble

The second day of the third Test in Ranchi on Sunday stuck to the script used for much of the rest of the series.

Virat Kohli declared after India piled up 497/9.

Then SA shambled to 9/2 in five overs before bad light ended play.

Worse‚ the players dismissed were Dean Elgar‚ who has scored the most runs and faced the most balls for the visitors in the series‚ and Quinton de Kock.

Both gloved catches to the wicketkeeper, having tried to leave short‚ aggressive deliveries bowled by Mohammed Shami and Umesh Yadav.

Other South Africans will be relieved to know the gloom cut short Sunday’s proceedings by 34 overs.

Rohit Sharma converted his overnight 117 not out into 212.

Sharma‚ who made 176 and 127 in the first Test in Visakhapatnam‚ took his aggregate for the series to 529.

Having reached three figures with a six off Dane Piedt on Saturday‚ Sharma went to his second hundred with a pulled six off Lungi Ngidi to the 13th ball after lunch.

Ajinkya Rahane resumed on 83 and forged to 115 before being caught behind off George Linde in the 10th over before lunch to end a stand of 267‚ a record for India’s fourth wicket against SA.

The Indians attacked overtly after Rahane’s dismissal‚ scoring 191 runs in the 41 overs they faced before the declaration.

Umesh Yadav smashed the first two balls he faced — bowled by Linde — for six and followed that with three more maximums in the debutant left-arm spinner’s next over.

Linde‚ who was summoned from SA after Keshav Maharaj injured a shoulder during the second Test in Pune‚ bowled with discipline in his 31 overs and took 4/133.

Off-spinner Piedt‚ Linde’s Cobras teammate‚ went into the match having sweated it out for 38 overs for his return of 1/209 in the first Test‚ and the 20 sixes he has conceded in the rubber is the most by any bowler in any Test series.

Piedt‚ who was also hit for nine fours in the innings‚ sent down a dozen of his 18 overs before he bowled a maiden.

Piedt finished with 1/101.