Johannesburg, Jan. 26 (TNS): Late into the third day’s play, South Africa opener Dean Elgar was hit on the helmet grill by a rising delivery which prompted the umpires to take the players off the field.
Eventually, after discussions between the two on-field umpires, captains of the two teams and the match referee, the stumps were drawn with the pitch being put under covers following a light drizzle.
South Africa were 17/1, chasing 241 runs, when in the ninth over, Elgar failed to negotiate with a short delivery, bowled by Jasprit Bumrah and the ball hit him on the helmet.
The South African took off his helmet and immediately team physio was pressed into service. The two umpires held a brief discussion following which the players walked back to the dressing rooms. A decision on the fate of the Test will be taken on Saturday morning
The uneven bounce remained a concern throughout the day’s play. However, the delivery that struck Elgar wasn’t because of the pitch misbehaving. In fact, he was found awkwardly dealing with the bounce on previous occasions.
But the Indian batsmen braved it out earlier with their lower order pushing the lead to 240 runs.
The tail wagged and wagged enough to frustrate South Africa as India were all out for 247 in their second innings. Crucial contributions from Bhuvneshwar Kumar (33) and Mohammed Shami (27) helped them set South Africa a challenging target on a surface which has come under heavy scrutiny for its erratic nature.
