Rishabh Pant’s record-breaking unbeaten 100 helped India set a fighting target of 212 in the series decider at Newlands, Cape Town. Pant broke records as he batted with the tail and helped India set a fighting total on Day 3. Marco Jansen was the pick of the bowlers for hosts as he picked up a four-wicket haul to bundle out India for 198 in the second innings.
Starting the day's play with two big wickets of Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane, South African speedsters put India on the back foot. However, Indian skipper Virat Kohli held on to one end whereas Pant launched a counter-attack from another. The two shared a 94-run stand for the fifth wicket to bring India back in the game which is the second-highest for the fifth wicket by India on South African soil. Kohli played his slowest Test knock without scoring a half-century. He got out after scoring 29 runs off 143 deliveries at a strike rate of 20.28.
After Kohli's wicket, Pant did not get much support from the other end and kept running out of partners. None of the Indian lower-middle order or lower order batters managed to score in double digits while Pant took on Proteas bowlers from the other end with ease. While Ravichandran Ashwin and Shardul Thakur stayed in the middle for a while, Umesh Yadav and Mohammed Shami bagged their respective 10-ball ducks. Pant decided to get his fourth Test century by keeping the strike to himself. In the end, Jansen got rid of his nemesis Bumrah to wrap up India's innings.
While Jansen took four wickets to take his tally to seven wickets in the decider, Kagiso Rabada and Lungi Ngidi bagged three wickets each. South Africa's highest successful run chase in Cape Town is 236 against Australia in 2011. On the other hand, Kohli has never lost a Test match as captain when India are defending a total in excess of 150.
