Close India 96 for 1 (Das 54*, Laxman 25*), are 88 runs behind South Africa
Scorecard

A sloggacious hundred by Lance Klusener and some useful late-order partnerships – a feature of South African cricket – saw SA gambol to 563, which gave them a handy lead of 184 runs. India had reduced that to 88 by the close, for the loss of reluctant opener Rahul Dravid.

Klusener's knock, his fourth Test century, grabbed the initiative back South Africa's way after Javagal Srinath's double strike, which included his 200th Test wicket, had put India back on terms.

South Africa began the day circumspectly, as Jacques Kallis and Boeta Dippenaar decided not to take any chances and just to wait for the bad delivieries – which had come in abundance the previous day. Anil Kumble and Zaheer Khan began the day for the Indians, and opted to trade pace for efficiency: Khan bowled at an average of 125kph, and displayed an accuracy and control which could have done India a lot of good yesterday. Kumble flighted the ball more, and was economical without being too threatening.

Ganguly took the new ball in the 95th over, and Ashish Nehra and Javagal Srinath were immediately menacing. Kallis, a gentle giant in appearance but a ferocious ogre to bowlers, finally edged Nehra to the diving VVS Laxman at second slip. Months of stubborn resistance came to an end with this mundane moment: Kallis had made 456 Test runs since his last Test dismissal, in April.

Cometh the hour, cometh Javagal! This most inconsistent, enigmatic and frustrating of bowlers reached 200 wickets in Tests, as he picked off Boeta Dippenaar and Shaun Pollock with consecutive deliveries, just before South Africa took the lead. This wasn't a case of batsmen giving away their wickets, but of Srinath plotting, scheming and actually implementing his plan.

He set Dippenaar up with a couple of inswingers, his stock ball today, before bowling a beautiful delivery that pitched on a good length, straightened, and crashed into the off stump. Dippenaar posed with what looked a perfect defensive stroke, but sadly for him he failed to make contact.

The next ball was again, wonder of wonders, pitched on a good length. It came in a bit, and Pollock got an inside-edge onto his pads, which Shiv Sunder Das at forward short leg grabbed gleefully. Mark Boucher walked out to bat with Srinath on a hat-trick.

Boucher kept it out, and the Klusener roadshow began. He looked in aggressive one-day mood, and flashed outside the off stump often enough to be granted entry into a nudist colony. He had 29 from 27 balls when South Africa lunched at 419 for 6, and continued in belligerent mode afterwards.

Srinath bowled the first over after lunch, and Klusener stepped onto the back foot and executed a handsome off-drive that whispered through the slow outfield, teasing the fielder until both man and ball went over the ropes together.

Srinath bowled three excellent balls in the corridor and then, typically, an awful little lollipop on Klusener's legs. A lightbulb went off above Klusener's head and a thought-bubble appeared just beside it, containing the word "Thwack". The ball, glad to be away from the scene of the action, raced to the deep-midwicket boundary.

Twenty-six overs after his amazing brace, Srinath struck again – Mark Boucher (47) played at one that straightened and bounced a little more than expected, and the resulting nick went straight to Dravid at first slip (498 for 7).

And so India finally managed to make it to the South African tail, when No. 9 Nicky Boje fell to a beautiful awayswinger from Nehra, and Deep Dasgupta finally got something right and held on to it. No more than a cherry to a starving man.

Klusener, meanwhile, had been belting leather as if he was drunk inside a tannery. The man who would surely have been Attila's right-hand man was a left-handed nightmare for the Indians, as he smashed 18 fours and a six in his 108. The torment seemed finally to be over when he gave a return catch to Kumble, but then Makhaya Ntini smashed Srinath for six, four and four before nicking a short wide Srinath special to Dasgupta.

And then out walked the Indians, to try to save the match. It looked like yet another familiar Indian collapse when Dravid was out in the seventh over, but Das and Laxman – SS and VVS – fought back with an unbroken 67-run partnership to leave India with a fighting chance.

Pollock was at his fiery best in his opening spell, and Dravid soon thick-edged an awayswinger in his fourth over, which Gary Kirsten grabbed gleefully at gully.

Pollock then bowled two successive maidens to Laxman, beating the bat a couple of times, bringing one back alarmingly when he shouldered arms, and keeping one low that Laxman just managed to stab out of his stumps. Das, at the other end, was severe on Nantie Hayward, going down on his knees to cut a four in his fourth over, then executing a classical textbook off-drive to the ropes. He glanced Kallis down leg for another four in the 14th over, and hammered Ntini for three more in the 21st. Das reached his fifty in the 23rd over, an innings which uncharacteristically contained 11 boundaries.

India will have to bat well on the fourth day to set any sort of target. Time for a repeat, Sachin?

Amit Varma is assistant editor of Wisden.com India.

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