Aiden Markram fell 6 short of his third Test ton and AB de Villiers was also dismissed but India had a familiar foe in the form of Hashim Amla in the middle as South Africa were 218/3 after 68 overs. Amla, 66, was joined by skipper Faf du Plessis on 1.
Ravichandran Ashwin looked the only bowler capable of picking up a wicket in the first session and that is exactly what happened in the second session. He dismissed both the openers—Dean Elgar and Aiden Markram— before Ishant Sharma sent back AB de Villiers just after tea.
While Elgar looked scratchy from the very first ball, Elgar looked solid. However a slight loss of concentration costed him his wicket as he fell 6 short of another ton.
Hashim Amla then survived early jitters and was dropped twice—on 16 and 30—before he scored his 12th half-century at the venue. Ishant Sharma then sent back AB de Villiers after a defended ball bounced on the stumps, He could score just 20.