South Africa ended Day 4 of the first Test against India at Visakhaptnam at the score of 11/1, having been set a daunting target of 395 runs to win by the hosts India. India declared their second innings on 323 for four in the final session of day four, with some explosive stroke-play seen in the final session, first by Rohit Sharma and then by Virat Kohli, Ravindra Jadeja and Ajinkya Rahane.
Sharma struck his second successive hundred in his debut as Test opener earlier, and largely down to his exploits, South Africa now need 384 runs to win the match on the final day.
When South Africa came in to bat, Ravindra Jadeja struck early after trapping first-innings centurion Dean Elgar for two runs in the fourth over of the innings.
The left-handed Elgar, who made 160 in the first innings, was given not out by the on-field umpire only for India to get the decision overturned with a TV review.
Markram and de Bruyn then played out the remaining overs from spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Jadeja until bad light forced the extended play to be called off.
But the day belonged to Rohit Sharma once again, who became the first batsman in history to hit two successive tons in both innings in his first match as a Test opener. He had made a mammoth 176 in India’s first innings, where they declared the innings on 502.
En-route to his second ton, Rohit also broke the record for the most number of sixes hit in a Test match with 13 sixes, going past Wasim Akram’s record of 12 sixes.
Sharma put on 169 with Cheteshwar Pujara, who made 81, to frustrate South Africa after the loss of opener Mayank Agarwal for seven.
Pujara was trapped lbw by Vernon Philander after he completed his 21st Test half-century.
Sharma survived a scare when he was batting on 50, when he was caught off the bowling of Dane Piedt. However, replays showed that fielder Senuran Muthusamy’s foot had touched the rope.
He was finally stumped off Keshav Maharaj as he attempted a big hit. Incidentally, Rohit had never been stumped in his Test career till before the start of the Test match, where he has now been dismissed stumped in both the innings he has played in.
Jadeja then came in to hit a 32-ball 40 before Kagiso Rabada cleaned him up.
Earlier in the day, Indian bowler Ravichandran Ashwin completed a haul of seven wickets in the match, as the visitors were bowled out for 431 in the morning session.
Ashwin got overnight batsman Maharaj out for nine and then trapped Rabada, leaving the Proteas 71 runs behind.
