3rd Test: South Africa 17/1 at stumps before dangerous pitch force halt of play on Day 3

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Johannesburg, Jan 26: India clearly dominated the third days' play before umpires called off the day's play due to poor pitch conditions at Wanderers on Friday (January 26).

Match officials halted play and began discussions with captain and coaches of both the teams after home opener Dean Elgar took a nasty blow on the grill of his helmet.

Scorecard; Day 2 Report; Want the play to continue: Rahane

Indian skipper Virat Kohli visibly seemed unhappy with the umpires' decision to halt the match due to bad pitch condition. However, India vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane later said they still want the game to continue as the decision lies in the hands of the umpires.

"We wanted to continue, the umpires said the decision is completely up to us (When India were batting). We told them our message is completely clear. We want to play," said Rahane.

South Africa were 17/1 at stumps and still need another 224 runs to win this match with 9 wickets in hand. Aiden Markram was the first Protea wicket to perish as he was dismissed for 4 by Mohammed Shami. Dean Elgar (9*) and Hashim Amla (2*) are present at the crease.

Earlier, India batted well in the second innings with valuable contributions from Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane and Bhuvneshwar Kumar to set a still 241-run target for South Africa to chase in the third Test on a tricky Wanderers pitch.

Batting on this track was not easy for the Indians as Proteas came down heavily against them but the visitors showed a lot of character to post 247 in their second innings.

As the pitch is getting difficult for batting, it will not be an easy task for the Proteas to get off to a decent start and win the match as there is a lot of uneven bounce.

Ajinkya Rahane once again proved why he is team's finest overseas batsman with a vital 48-run knock and his crucial partnerships with Virat Kohli and Bhuvneshwar Kumar helped the visitors extend their lead to 240 runs.

Kohli played yet another captain's knock and scored a classy 41 before being dismissed by Rabada on an unplayable delivery. The skipper once again brilliantly negotiated with the uneven bounce on the tricky pitch and kept his side into the contest.

Hardik Pandya once again disappointed with the bat as too was caught by Rabada for 4 on his own delivery.

Bhuvneshwar, who was the third highest scorer for the visitors in the first innings, continued his brilliant run with the bat and played another crucial knock of 33 runs. It was the pacer's sublime innings that ensured the visitors not only cross the 200-run mark but also swell their lead to 240.

After Rahane's departure, Mohammed Shami played brilliant cameo of 27 runs of 28 and helped his side amass some quick runs. Shami smashed two sixes and a boundary in his short, yet effective, stay at the crease.

After Shami's dismissal at 238, the final two wickets perished within nine runs and India were bowled out for 247. Bhuvneshwar and Jasprit Bumrah were the last two wickets to fall. Ishant Sharma remained unbeaten for 7.

For the hosts, all three of their lead pacers picked three wickets apiece but they looked ineffective for most of the time as Indians dug deep and showed resistance. It took the hosts 80.1 overs to end the visitors' second innings.

Kagiso Rabada (3/69), Vernon Philander (3/61) and Morne Morkel (3/47) bagged three wickets apiece but they were made to toil to get the Indian wickets. Lungi Ngidi - the man of the match of the previous Test - didn't look as effective and had to settle with just 1 wicket in the second innings.

Earlier, India lost three wickets in the first session of the day and also scored valuable 51 runs. Murali Vijay (25) departed at the stroke of lunch after KL Rahul was dismissed for 16 at the start of the day's play. Philander gave hosts just the kind of start they would have hoped for as he dismissed KL Rahul for 16 soon after the match resumed.

Rahul was caught in the slip cordon by Dean Elgar as he once again played a loose shot by playing the ball moving away from him. Cheteshwar Pujara was the next man to be dismissed as he scored just 1 before being caught in the slip by Elgar. It was a wicket-taking delivery from Morne Morkel that hit Pujara's gloves and deflected towards the slip.

Vijay looked calm and composed before he was castled by a yorker from Rabada. He also suffered several blows on his body as he denied the Proteas his wicket. The right-handed batsman scored 25 before departing.

However, India's skipper Kohli and his deputy Rahane were the real stars for the side and brought them back into the game.