Fast bowler S Sreesanth extended his dream run in the match to carry India to the threshold of a historic victory in the first Test against South Africa. By the end of the third day, in Johannesburg on Sunday, South Africa, chasing 402 for victory, were reduced to 163 for five.
Sreesanth (3 for 47) and Zaheer Khan (1 for 44) bowled tirelessly for 17 overs each as India took control for the opening Test.
South Africa need another 239 runs to script the biggest successful chase at the Wanderers after being blown away for 84 in the first innings.
Ashwell Prince (54) and Mark Boucher (23) stalled India's progress in the last session with a partnership of 43.
Earlier, VVS Laxman scored an elegant fifty to stretch the lead to 401, as India finished at 236 in the second innings.
A 70-run stand between Laxman (73) and Zaheer (37) shattered the spirits of the South African bowlers after they had grabbed early wickets in the day.
Shaun Pollock, Andre Nel and Makhaya Ntini picked three wickets each but could not stop India from running away with a commanding lead.
The hosts will have to rewrite history to come back and win the Test; the highest fourth innings score at the Wanderers is 351 for five, by England, while chasing 479 in 1995-96.
Morning session
India, resuming on 146 for five, lost Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Anil Kumble for the addition for just two runs to the overnight score.
Having completed a tally of 400 Test wickets, Pollock did the honours early in the morning by scalping Dhoni for 18. Kumble was out driving away from his body to Andre Nel and was caught by Ashwell Prince at point to give South Africa a window of hope early on.
But Laxman and Zaheer all but shut doors on the home team with a steady partnership.
The Hyderabadi curbed his shots early in the day and guided his partner through the tough opening hour. Having made a remarkable comeback to the Indian team, Zaheer made his presence felt with the bat as well, leaving alone the teasing deliveries and got his eye in much to the frustration of the South African bowlers.
Laxman, following his 28 in the first innings, posted the highest individual score in the match so far with a well-complied 73 off 154 balls. With the South Africans bowling a yard too short, he scored 29 runs through the arc between third man and point, including four boundaries.
Graeme Smith's desperation was evident as he brought himself into the attack. But he was quickly taken apart by Zaheer, who slammed him for two fours and two sixes as India accelerated in the last 30 minutes.
Makhaya Ntini though cut short the sojourn when he had Laxman and Zaheer within the space of two deliveries.
Returning for his second spell of the morning, Ntini bowlerd further up to draw the batsmen to nick the ball.
Though India only lasted another 10 balls, S Sreesanth and Nel carried on their little battle from Saturday to provide some entertainment.
Nel came out and bounced Sreesanth and then called on the batsman to take on the challenge. Sreesanth replied by charging down the track and hitting the ball straight over the bowlers' head for a six and then celebrated by twirling his bat while glaring at the bowler.
The young and restless duo of Sreesanth and VRV Singh added 16 runs for the last wicket before the latter was run-out while going for an improbable second.
Post-Lunch session
South Africa came out after lunch looking to make amends for the first innings disaster. Captain Graeme Smith, who is a nervous starter, had huge responsibility to lead his team to safety. But the opener threw away his wicket after a cautious start. He reached for a wide delivery from Sreesanth and Sehwag took a good diving catch at point.
Smith shared a 22-run stand with Hashim Amla, who was next to go for 17. Though the batsmen fared better than they had in the first essay and looked more comfortable at the crease, it didn't help South Africa's cause, leaving the lower and middle order to face a daunting task.
Jacques Kallis tried to smooth the lines in typically unruffled fashion. He combined well with the left-handed Ashwell Prince to halt India's march in the session.
Zaheer Khan bowled another outstanding opening spell, but had a couple of close decisions ruled against him. He finished the session with figures of 19 for 1 in eight overs.
Sreesanth was again the pick of the bowlers, maintaining a consistent, probing line. The delivery that he got Amla out with, landed on the perfect length and forced the batsman to play and edge the ball to the wicketkeeper.
With India making early inroads, Kallis and Prince were left stalling the Indian assault before they could begin looking for runs. Prince, batting to a packed off-side field, squeezed out five runs in 36 balls and Kallis was unbeaten on 24 from 59 balls when tea was called.
India were unable to maintain the intensity after Sreesanth and Zaheer were off the attack. Dravid also introduced Sourav Ganguly into the attack, but the former skipper was taken for 11 runs from the over, including two fours by Kallis.
Post-Tea session
Sreesanth broke through Kallis' defences, as he lured an edge from South Africa's top batsman with an out-swinger to peg the hosts back early in the session. Kallis' resistance lasted 72 balls, as the all-rounder, with Prince, posted South Africa's first 50-run partnership.
Prince, who had scored a battling 24 amidst the first innings ruins, again concentrated hard and kept the Indian pacemen at bay. He was the mainstay of the South African middle order and batted with patience, something lacking in most of his fellow-batsmen.
Since South Africa's first innings had lasted only 25.1 overs, Zaheer and Sreesanth coming up with a sensational performance, the other bowlers didn't have much to do. But the second time around, when the home batsmen came up with a better show, the lack of thrust in India's bowling was evident.
Sreesanth and Zaheer did most of the hard work, bowling long spells, as VRV Singh, playing his third Test, failed to make an impression.
The pitch eased out considerably in the afternoon, and though Anil Kumble got a few to rip past the batsmen, he was unable to convert them into wickets.
Abraham De Villiers, who was coasting along on 17, gifted India the fifth wicket as he was run-out by a long way. He called for a quick single after turning the ball to mid-on, but Zaheer dashed in and shattered the stumps with a direct throw.
South Africa would have been in greater trouble had Daryl Harper upheld a confident shout by Sreesanth against Prince. With the batsman on 44, Sreesanth got one to angle away from him and it looked liked the ball carried a faint nick on the way to the wicketkeeper. But the umpire felt otherwise and Prince went on to score his fourth Test fifty.
With the Indian bowlers tiring out, and the kookaburra ball hardly helping reverse swing, the South African batsmen could breathe easier and opened up to play a few shots.
After doing all the hard work early on, Mark Boucher, strangely, decided to have a go in the last over of the day. He pulled Sreesanth over mid-wicket for four, survived a very close call for caught behind (umpire Harper again ruling in the favour of the batsman) and swirled to hook, the ball ballooning in the air before falling short of Zaheer Khan at deep square leg.
Prince and Boucher survived for 14 overs, building a partnership of 43 runs, but a more daunting task lies ahead of them as they enter the fourth day of the Test with a deficit of 239 runs with only five wickets left.
