JOHANNESBURG – Seamer Jasprit Bumrah took five wickets as India seized control of the third and final Test yesterday, going to the close of the second day with a 42-run lead on a treacherous wicket at the Wanderers.
Bumrah, in this third Test, ripped through the middle-order and cleaned up the South African tail with career-best figures of 5-54 as India bowled their hosts out for 194. With South Africa having taken a slender lead of seven runs, the tourists reached 49 for one wicket in their second innings.
Murali Vijay (13 not out) and Lokesh Rahul (16 not out) will resume on the third day, looking to build a lead in the knowledge that setting South Africa anything over 150 for victory on a wicket that has pace, bounce and prodigious lateral movement will be challenging.
South Africa lacked their usual intensity in the Indian second innings and may rue not being able to make deeper inroads into the batting line-up before the close.
India had elevated middle-order batsman Parthiv Patel (16) to the top of the order to give them a right/left hand combination in the opening positions.
