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Day 1: India's dour approach undermined by Adams

India's batsmen displayed an inexplicable obsession with caution and, with run-getting a distant thought on their minds, succeeded in playing themselves into an extremely vulnerable position in the third Test here yesterday.

There were 33 maiden overs on the first day, a statistic confirming India's reluctance to go for the bowling after they had won a crucial toss.

Paul Adams, bubbly and chirpy as a teenager, took three wickets in 15 balls with his unorthodox left-arm spin near the end of the day, celebrating each with a little somersault, which thankfully did not look out of place.

From 185 for three India slipped to 193 for six and left a tentative Sachin Tendulkar (43 from 151 balls) to free their backs from the wall.

The pitch at the Green Park stadium was dry and had fairly substantial cracks on it and, while it was not quite a minefield, the ball tended to stop after pitching.

Normally, given their aversion to the short-pitched ball, India's batsmen should have been delighted. If only for a short while, it seemed that way when another set of openers, India's fourth in four matches, took the score to 76 for no wicket at lunch.

Nayan Mongia kept feeding off his bread-and-butter shot, the glide behind square, and the graceful Woorkeri Raman, playing his first Test match in four years, looked quite at ease.

Almost immediately after lunch Brian McMillan, who was brought on very late, slanted one through Mongia's defence and soon afterwards his persistence in attacking Raman outside the off stump paid off, with Lance Klusener picking up a sharp chance at second slip.

Saurav Ganguly, free from the almost unbearable pressure of playing before his passionate home crowd at Calcutta, seemed to breathe more freely and once again appeared to be the young man who had so captivated English audiences six months ago.

After his departure, the combined and substantial talents of Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid were put into cold storage while only 14 runs came in the hour after tea from 16 overs.

Day 2: Kumble cracks South Africa

Leg spinner Anil Kumble and medium-pacer Javagal Srinath exploited an uneven pitch to bowl South Africa out for 177 in their first innings, giving India a 60-run lead on the second day of the third Test in Kanpur yesterday.

Kumble claimed four for 71 and Srinath three for 42 as South Africa were bundled out after India scored 237 in their first innings.

South African pace bowler Fannie De Villiers struck back immediately to claim opener Woorkeri Raman lbw for two and leave India seven for one at the close.

Like two sets of heavyweights, India and South Africa kept heaving away at the rope to produce a fascinating tug-of-war.

At 204 for six when play resumed, India would have been hoping to score at least a further 70 runs, especially with Sachin Tendulkar still around.

He reached 50 fairly quickly, breaking a sequence of six innings without one, which equalled his longest stretch in Test cricket without a half century.

Tendulkar was looking more positive until he tried to hit Paul Adams out of the ground. The extreme slowness of the pitch made the ball sit up and he was easily caught at long-off.

Adams went on to finish with six for 55, including an excellent return catch off Srinath, taken unsighted behind the non-striker. He has bowled with great heart in India, which is encouraging for the balance of the South African attack.

Determination has been one of the factors for South Africa's resurgence and it was a quality they displayed for a while at the Green Park stadium. The ball was keeping increasingly low and with driving difficult, they were reduced to nudging the ball around and searching for the odd short ball to pull or cut.

They got to 121 for three when their defences dropped. Their approach suddenly became loose, and with Anil Kumble and Srinath bang on target, four wickets went down for 10 runs.

Now a limping side, they struggled to reach 177, giving India a lead of 60, worth almost twice that figure given the state of the surface.

Tendulkar, in his hour of need, had turned once again to Srinath and Kumble, and India's two best bowlers did not let him down.

Kumble engineered the collapse by having Darryl Cullinan caught brilliantly for 29 at first slip by Mohammad Azharuddin off a fast leg break, and Hansie Cronje caught by substitute Vangipurappu Laxman at mid-on for 15.

Srinath, returning for his last spell of the day after tea, bowled Brian McMillan for one with an in-cutter, yorked Dave Richardson for four and had Lance Klusener caught by Rahul Dravid at point to add to the visitors' woes.

South Africa picked up a wicket as the light faded but with a target of anything more than 250 looking positively dangerous, they are in need of a good third day.

Day 3: Batsmen seize the moment for India

India displayed depth and character on the third day of the Third Test against South Africa in Kanpur to reach 270 for five in their second innings, a lead of 330.

Pretty and brittle are words usually more applicable to the Indian batting but by leaning more towards the task of winning a Test, India have probably ensured that they will win this series 2-1.

The pivot once again was Mohammad Azharuddin. Six months ago in England he looked weighed down by responsibility and seemed uncertain about his future. Now, with the captaincy lost, he seems to be enjoying his freedom, and with marital problems set aside he has found himself a place in the sun all over again.

At Calcutta he resembled a hurricane, anxious to cause as much destruction as quickly as possible. Here he was like a fresh sea breeze, controlled and invigorating. His shot selection was impeccable, and it almost seemed like Hansie Cronje had his gaps in the right place. Azhar is not out on 88, in sight of his 16th century and sharing a partnership of 78 with Rahul Dravid, who is on 33.

India will be looking to these two and the others to take the lead beyond 400, a figure that Sachin Tendulkar, yesterday reappointed captain for the forthcoming tours of South Africa, Zimbabwe and the West Indies, probably believed was impossible at the end of day two.

India's cause was helped in the morning by Anil Kumble's stubborn 42. He did what nightwatchmen do best, frustrating and tormenting the South African bowlers. He put on 50 with Saurav Ganguly, who sparkled in his innings of 41.

With two days to go, and a wearing pitch to bowl on, India should be favourites to inflict on South Africa their first series defeat since their return to international cricket.

Day 4: South Africa slide towards series defeat

South Africa have not lost a series since their re-admission to the ICC in 1991, but India are likely to end that record, thanks to Mohammed Azharuddin's stylish, undefeated 163 at Kanpur yesterday.

South Africa need 334 to win on the final day with only five wickets in hand; defeat looks probable on a wearing Green Park pitch today.

Azharuddin's brilliance meant that Sachin Tendulkar did not have to worry too much about a declaration and, when he finally closed the innings at lunch, South Africa had a near-impossible 461 runs ahead of them.

India scored 130 in the session before lunch, Azharrudin getting to his 16th Test century with almost a touch of disdain.

He has a magnificent conversion ratio, with 16 fifties to go with those 16 hundreds. That means every time he goes past fifty he has got an evens chance of producing a century, and that is an awesome record to have.

His partnership with the stylish Rahul Dravid produced 165, with Dravid watching his hero at the other end, contributing 56.

South Africa would have been disappointed with the way their spinners bowled. On a wearing track they gave India's batsmen too much room, a shortcoming that was highlighted by Anil Kumble's magnificent spell in the evening session.

But well as Kumble bowled, it was really the quick bowlers who struck at the heart of the South African reply.

Javagal Srinath, who looks a more complete bowler every time he bowls, had Gary Kirsten lbw early and almost claimed Herschelle Gibbs in the same over.

Venkatesh Prasad, who shares a deep friendship with Srinath off the field, soon produced a beauty that moved very late to hit Gibbs's off-stump.

A bout of insanity accounted for Darryl Cullinan's wicket as he looked for a sharp single to mid-off, and a handsome 50 by Hansie Cronje was not enough.

Day 5: India punish S African lack of commitment

India duly mopped up the last five wickets yesterday to win the third Test by 280 runs at Kanpur, inflicting on South Africa their first series defeat anywhere since their return to Test cricket five years ago.

With 334 needed when play started, South Africa must have felt they had a mountain to climb, with the Himalayas staring down at them to emphasise the point.

It did not help that they had to play on a pitch that looked like a parched desert track, though India had made 400 second-innings runs on the same surface.

When Brian McMillan and Dave Richardson fell in the first 20 minutes, it was South African commitment, normally a strong point, that was open to question.

Lance Klusener, one of South Africa's major gains from the tour, stretched the game beyond lunch, showing a broad bat. India needed to call on the new ball to end the resistance.

That must seem strange in the very home of spin-bowling, but it was a telling reflection on the impact that Javagal Srinath and Venkatesh Prasad had made in recent times. Within four overs South Africa were bowled out, and those two late wickets pro vided for a most interesting statistical statement. Of the 50 wickets that South Africa lost in the series exactly half went to the quick bowlers. And for the first time in memory the spinners managed only half India's wickets.

Indeed Srinath, who seems to have a heart as wide as the Gangetic Plain, was India's key bowler and for the first time in this series we saw him produce a magnificent exhibition of reverse-swing bowling with the old ball.

If Srinath, who took 17 wickets in all, lost out on the man of the series award, it was only because the genius of Mohammad Azharuddin resurfaced in Indian cricket.

He returned from England this July with his captaincy virtually gone, and worse with his bat, incapable of playing the familiar magical tunes. Suddenly it seems he has only been retuning it after all.

He scored 388 runs from three Tests, taking the bowling apart with his usual delicate touch. And yet one sensed for the first time a little touch of brutality to his batting.

With Anil Kumble taking 13 wickets (22 in all for the four home Tests) and scoring an encouraging 199 runs, India's list of performers was complete.

For South Africa that list was smaller. Gary Kirsten scored a century in each innings at Calcutta and finished with 322 runs for the series, but he alone among the top order looked consistent enough.

South Africa missed the injured Allan Donald and, well as the young Klusener bowled by the end of the series, they were waiting to return to the bounty pitches at home.