Cape Town: Rishabh Pant's dazzling century on Thursday helped India trudge to 198 against South Africa in the third and final match of the series here at Newlands.
Pant (100 off 139 balls) blasted all around the ground, hitting and clearing the fence at will when the other batters failed to make a mark in the series decider match.
South Africa need 212 runs to win the match and it will be up to the bowlers to pack the Proteas within the stipulated total.
Virat Kohli, who looked resolute throughout his innings of 29 runs, was again a victim of a similar outside off stump dismissal off Lungi Ngidi.
Ravichandran Ashwin and Shardul Thakur scored 7 and 5 runs respectively while Umesh Yadav and Mohammed Shami couldn't open their accounts.
The umpires called for tea break at the fall of final Indian wicket in the extended second session.
This was the first Test match in 145-year-history where all 20 batters of one team were caught.
The day belonged to Pant as he scored a hundred which is as good as one would ever see and what stood out was his shot selection, which was immaculate.
He didn't do anything that was 'un-Pant' like as there was a rasping square cut off a rising one from Kagiso Rabada (3/53). There was the audacious down the track cover drive off Duanne Olivier and that six over long-on off Keshav Maharaj came just an over before lunch.
These are all shots that one associates with the dashing keeper-batter but what was exemplary was his use of discretion as to what kind of deliveries he would attack.
In between defending the good balls, he drove Maharaj out of the attack with a one-handed slog sweep and a six over long-off. When Olivier dug one short at his pace, it was pulled for six as he hit six fours and four sixes in all.
Skipper Virat Kohli's presence during a 94-run stand definitely helped that he had that guiding light in the middle as he went about his job.
Once Pant had unsettled the line and length of the Proteas pace unit, Dean Elgar opened the field allowing them to rotate the strike but once Kohli perished outside the off-stump, it was only Pant who had to take the burden.
The other highlight was his batting with the tail, taking a single off either the fourth or fifth delivery shielding the Number 9, 10 and 11 as much as possible.
If Pant's learning from his mistake was one good aspect, same can't be said about Cheteshwar Pujara (9) and Ajinkya Rahane (1) as they have now put their careers in jeopardy.
Pujara was again cramped for room on the leg side and the tickle off the gloves was brilliantly taken by Keegan Petersen at leg slip, diving to his right and snapping it up inches ahead of the ground.
In case of Rahane, Rabada bowled a terrific one which kicked from length and took his gloves and Dean Elgar at first slip caught it after keeper Kyle Verreynne had managed to tip it up with his gloves.
Seven Indian batters failed to get into double figures.
Brief Scores:
India: 223 and 198 all out in 67.3 overs. (R Pant 100 not out, V Kohli 29; Marco Jansen 4/36, K Rabada 3/53).
South Africa: 210 all out.
With agencies
