India strike back after Ajinkya Rahane, Ashwin take them to 334

NEW DELHI: Ajinkya Rahane scored his fifth Test century to lay the foundation for India's decent first innings score of 334 before South Africa reached 38/1 at tea on the second day of the fourth and final cricket Test here today.

Comeback-man Umesh Yadav removed Dean Elgar (17) , who was caught by Wriddhiman Saha trying to steer a fuller delivery.

Temba Bavuma (20 batting) and skipper Hashim Amla (1 batting) were at the crease for South Africa during tea break.

The highlight of the second day certainly was Rahane's 127 off 215 balls as he achieved the distinction of being the first player from either side to have reached a three-figure mark in this low-scoring series so far.

The stylish right-hander's knock was studded with 11 fours and as many as five sixes. He added 98 runs off 193 balls for the eighth wicket with Ravichandran Ashwin (56), who completed his sixth half-century in the longest format.

Incidentally, this was also the highest stand for any wicket among either teams in the series. The Rahane-Ashwin duo surpassed the previous best of 86 between Murali Vijay and Cheteshwar Pujara.

Among the many firsts, it was Rahane's first hundred on home soil. This was also the first time that one team passed a total of 300 runs in this series with the previous highest being 215 at Nagpur.

This was also the first time that only one wicket fell in a single session which yielded 95 runs. Another first was Rahane getting a hundred against South Africa and he has now scored five centuries against five different oppositions: Australia, England, New Zealand, South Africa and Sri Lanka.

What made the knock even more special is the fact that this is the ground where he made an inauspicious Test debut failing (7 & 1) in both innings.

Rahane's moment of glory came with a beautiful straight drive off Kyle Abbott as the entire Indian dressing room gave him a standing ovation. The 100 came off 180 balls which included 10 well-timed boundaries and two sixes.