Close India 28 for 1 (Dasgupta 22*) and 201 need 367 more to beat South Africa 362 and 233 for 5 dec (Kallis 89*, Pollock 55*)
Scorecard

On a day severely curtailed by poor weather, India hung on and survived to fight another day. Just 25 overs were possible today. South Africa batted for seven of them, and stretched their lead to 394. India battled through the other 18 in murky light to reach 28 for 1. For the second time in this Test, Deep Dasgupta showed admirable pluck, and, along with a gritty Rahul Dravid, saw off the South African seamers.

Two huge rain delays forced Shaun Pollock to alter his plans and he declared after South Africa had added just 22 runs to their overnight score. That left Jacques Kallis unbeaten on 89.

India started their second innings disastrously, losing SS Das in the first over to a lifter from Pollock which moved away a shade after pitching. Das shaped to play a horizontal-bat shot, but only succeeded in nicking it to Mark Boucher.

Dasgupta started off in style, easing Nantie Hayward through cover for four to get off the mark. He got another boundary – a thickish edge which went through the slip cordon. But the pick of them all was a perfect straight drive he executed when Hayward pitched it up.

Dravid was far more circumspect, and his only runs came off deflections to leg for singles.

Both batsmen had some moments of alarm, though, as Pollock got past their defences. The pitch showed signs of inconsistent bounce, and a couple of in-dippers by Pollock kept alarmingly low.

Earlier, play started after a three-hour delay due to showers in the morning. Just 2.3 overs were possible, before more showers sent the players in. They came out, but managed only 4.3 overs in the next session. The last session, which saw 18 overs of uninterrupted action, was easily the longest of the day.

With more rain forecast for tomorrow, India would believe they have a decent chance of escaping with a draw.

S Rajesh is a sub-editor with Wisden.com in India.

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