India vs South Africa: Virat Kohli’s 21st ton guides India to 307, Bumrah twin strikes peg SA back

CENTURION: Summers in South Africa aren't like India. They're relatively cool. A dry spell of heat can often result in quick thundershowers. It's common out here.
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The thundershowers that stopped play at the SuperSport Park in Centurion on Monday afternoon were a result of a similar dry spell of heat. As clouds began to gather, a burst was expected.
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Like in Cape Town, for a prolonged period, when showers not just disrupted a day's play but also set up the Test match for a more exciting Day Four, Centurion too witnessed something similar on Day Three.The last hour-and-ahalf was lost to rain, followed by bad light, before umpires called off play. In that, the contest here between the two teams only got tighter.
Riding on Virat Kohli's fabulous 153, India managed to stretch their total to 307 all out, just 28 runs behind South Africa's first innings. The hosts, 90-2 at stumps, were 118 runs ahead of the visitors. With two days to go and another wet spell not expected anytime soon, a result is definitely on.
Morne Morkel, the local boy from Centurion, wouldn't take a guess on how much could be too much for India to handle here batting last. "This Indian team is a great batting unit and given the conditions, potentially, they can score big," is all he said.
A certain AB de Villiers will walk out to bat on Tuesday morning alongside the lucky Dean Elgar, who edged a rising Bumrah delivery between wicket-keeper Parthiv Patel and first slip fielder Cheteshwar Pujara only to see neither of them go for the catch. There'll then be Faf du Plessis and Quinton de Kock to follow. South Africa should fancy setting India anything in excess of 300.
"Potentially, India has a great chance of winning here," says Morkel, knowing well that it's not been standard practice for visiting teams. But that's because of the wicket at play here, one that has a sub-continent feel to it and the South Africans, having gone through what they did when they last visited India in 2015, can't help but smirk.
South Africa's second innings here, post the showers, began on a rough note with India's seamers coming hard at them. Jasprit Bumrah, in particular, came across as menacing, picking Aiden Makram and Hashim Amla in quick succession, both caught legbefore.
Like in Cape Town, ABD took over and despite Ashwin troubling Elgar, South Africa started to take control. Then the showers arrived and hurt India's chances even more as the ball got wet and the movement disappeared. Kohli wasn't happy and play, post the second rain interruption, never resumed. "We were carrying good momentum so we wanted to carry on. It's OK because there is still a lot of play left in this match. We wanted to carry on but things didn't work," Bumrah said.
The hosts have a very clear idea of what they're likely to get come Day Four. Moisture, that played tricks with the Newlands strip - while it was a different ballgame altogether - could once again give Bumrah, Pandya and Ishant the much-needed spring in the surface to chip away at the SA line-up.