VVS Laxman produced his seemingly customary second-innings gem to defy South Africa's bowlers on a Kingsmead pitch that was still spicy and pushed India into a position of strength by lunch on the third day. He strung together the two biggest partnerships of the match, first with MS Dhoni and then with Zaheer Khan, to stretch the lead towards 300 on a morning in which India had plenty of fortune.
This healthy a lead looked unlikely when a steepler from Morne Morkel had Cheteshwar Pujara playing on in the second over of the day. Both Morkel and Dale Steyn were getting late swing, and with the odd delivery rearing up, life was hard for Laxman and Dhoni. There were several air-drives and edged boundaries past and over the slips. To South Africa's dismay, the pair didn't just survive, but scored quickly as well, with a bunch of fours from Dhoni helping raise 41 in seven overs.
Steyn was seen off, the partnership grew and a classic Laxman backfoot-drive past point off Morkel soothed Indian nerves, but once again Lonwabo Tsotsobe produced the breakthrough. He had Dhoni poking at a delivery angling across, feathering an edge to Mark Boucher. Harbhajan Singh fell three overs later, rooted in the crease as he prodded at a Morkel delivery, which ended in the safe hands of Jacques Kallis at second slip.
The lead was 212, and South Africa sensed a quick end to the innings, but Zaheer and Laxman tilted the game towards India with an unbroken 70-run stand. A long partnership didn't look likely given the way Zaheer started his innings: looking to swipe nearly every delivery out of the ground, and rarely managing to connect. Laxman was his calm self at the other end, working the singles around and becoming the first player to make a half-century in the game.
Laxman was much more in control in the second half of the session, looking for the gaps and not worrying too much about Zaheer's impetuous strokes. With Kallis and Paul Harris bowling, the pressure was also reduced, and the runs started to flow. South Africa's frustration grew as Laxman cracked Harris past backward point for four, and moved towards yet another assured second-innings century.
Zaheer also played his part. He had sparked India to life with the ball on Monday, and his aggression with the bat paid off today. He didn't mind the swing-and-misses, or the umpteen lbw appeals - including a dead-plumb one off Steyn that was turned down - and kept going for his shots. The session ended with India in charge, emphasised by a couple of powerful boundaries from Zaheer off the last two deliveries before the break.
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