A 40% chance of rain was expected to be one of India's allies on a day that was the biggest challenge for their young batting line-up. Instead, they were greeted by a perfect summer day - clear blue skies and pleasant sunshine. And their chances worsened dramatically within 15 minutes of the start of play, as Dale Steyn removed their two best batsmen, Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara, in a fierce spell of fast bowling.
India managed to clear the deficit just before lunch, but South Africa had mopped up five wickets in the session to put themselves on the verge of a series victory. Though it was the fifth day, the track was still reasonably good for batting, but only Ajinkya Rahane stuck it out with a hugely impressive unbeaten half-century.
Steyn struck a huge blow on the first ball itself as he got a shortish delivery to rear up and had Kohli caught behind. Kohli couldn't believe the decision, as the ball had brushed his shoulder on the way through to the keeper but he was on his way.
If Kohli couldn't be faulted for his dismissal, very little blame could be attached to Pujara for his exit as well. Steyn produced the ball of the match - a quick delivery that angled in and then nipped away to beat Pujara's attempt at keeping it out and clip the top of offstump. India were left shellshocked by that early burst as Steyn gave another reminder of why he remains the most lethal fast bowler around.
Rohit Sharma had shouldered arms and lost his middle stump first ball in the first innings, but he fared better this time around. There was plenty of chat with a fired-up Steyn, who sledged him lines like "I've got more runs than you this series," and "You have done nothing in your career." Rohit survived both Steyn's spell and the verbals, but there was no redemption on a disappointing tour for him as he was caught lbw by an incutter from Vernon Philander for 25.
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