Jansen's six-fer puts South Africa in firm command on Day 3

After a whirlwind innings that took South Africa from a precarious position to one of strength, Marco Jansen's heroics in the second Test continued as he starred with the ball on Day 3 to put the visitors in a strong position for a 2-0 finish. Yashasvi Jaiswal struck a half-century while Washington Sundar scored a fighting 48, and Kuldeep Yadav came up with a resistance too. But Jansen's 6 for 48 towered over the other performances as India suffered a monumental collapse - 6 wickets for 27 - and were eventually bowled out for 201. There was no follow on, as South Africa ended the day in command, leading by 314.

Resuming at 6/0, Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul began steadily, putting together a composed partnership in the first hour. The Indian openers were largely untroubled as they raised a half-century stand, with Jaiswal doing most of the scoring. The left-hander found regular boundaries against both pace and spin, while Rahul provided solidity at the other end, blunting the attack. Both batters even advanced down the track to Simon Harmer - Rahul collecting a boundary and Jaiswal clearing the fence.

Their stand was worth 65 when Rahul, defending a delivery from Keshav Maharaj, edged to slip. Jaiswal soon brought up his fifty, and Sai Sudharsan offered steady support as India looked set for another partnership. But the innings unravelled in the overs leading into Tea. Jaiswal departed for 58, edging a turning delivery from Harmer to short third. Sudharsan followed soon after, brilliantly caught by Ryan Rickelton at midwicket as his attempted pull brought Harmer a second wicket. Rishabh Pant struck a six off Harmer, but India lost another shortly after when Dhruv Jurel miscued a pull off Marco Jansen to wide mid-on. From 65/0, India slipped to 102/4 by the end of the first session.

The slide deepened immediately after the break. Pant, attempting a big slog off Jansen, only managed a faint edge through to the keeper. Nitish Reddy's stay was brief as well - undone by a short ball from Jansen, with Aiden Markram plucking a one-handed stunner at slip. Ravindra Jadeja then became Jansen's fourth scalp, edging to second slip, leaving India tottering at 122/7.

Some control finally returned through Washington Sundar and Kuldeep Yadav, who dug in to stem the collapse. Strike rate was secondary as they focused on survival and consolidation, their half-century stand - built over more than 141 deliveries - arriving in the final over before Lunch. Kuldeep struck a couple of boundaries, including an edge past slip, while Washington added a four and a six. South Africa also burned a review when Harmer thought he had Kuldeep lbw on a reverse sweep. The pair saw out the session without further damage, taking India to 174/7 at the break, still trailing by 315.

The vigil continued in the final session - Kuldeep was happy to defend, while Washington picked up a few runs, including a backfoot punch in Markram's over that fetched him his second four and took him into the 40s. Kuldeep was stranded on 15 for 20 deliveries before moving to 19 with a boundary off Markram, off the 113th delivery he faced in his watchful outing. The Washington-Kuldeep association also marked the first instance of an eighth wicket stand lasting more than 200 balls for India against South Africa.

The resistance, however, was broken when Washington fell two short of his fifty, edging a Harmer delivery to slip in his attempt to play with an open face. South Africa took the second new ball as soon as it was available and Jansen returned to bag his fifth, getting Kuldeep to edge to slip. Kuldeep departed after facing 134 deliveries, most in an innings by an Indian batter in this series. Jasprit Bumrah took India past 200 before Jansen got the No. 10 with a short ball, ending the home team's innings with a six-for that helped South Africa pick up a mammoth 288-run lead.

Temba Bavuma decided against enforcing the follow on, as the South African openers walked out and struck a boundary each off Bumrah in the first over. While Rickelton punched the ball through cover, Markram edged it to second slip where Rahul put down a tough chance. Bumrah and Siraj tried to make inroads but the South African openers batted well to deny wickets and also kept the scoreboard moving at a steady rate. After six overs of pace, Jadeja and Kuldeep came on and bowled an over each before players came off for bad light.

Brief scores: South Africa 489 & 26/0 (Ryan Rickelton 13*, Aiden Markram 12*) lead India 201 (Yashasvi Jaiswal 58, Washington Sundar 48; Marco Jansen 6-48, Simon Harmer 3-64) by 314 runs.