India vs South Africa: Visitors inch close to series win

South Africa are just five wickets away from completing a clean-sweep of the two-match Test series against India.

Chasing South Africa's mammoth 549 for a series-levelling win, India were struggling at 90 for five at tea on the fifth and the final day of second cricket Test at Barsapara Cricket Association Stadium.

Simon Harmer once again turned into India's nightmare extracting turn and vicious bounce on a crumbling fifth-day wicket with the off-spinner claiming four of the five wickets to have fallen.

The target of 549 was never in equation, but the manner in which India struggled their way to 90 for 5 at tea signalled that Harmer (4/23 in 19 overs) was more at ease on this track than Washington Sundar and Ravindra Jadeja had been through the two innings.

After eight wickets in Kolkata, Harmer has already picked seven in the current game and looks good for a few more.

In the morning, Harmer breached through Kuldeep Yadav's (5 off 38 balls) defence after a half-an-hour vigil while Dhruv Jurel (0) got a pair for the first time in Tests.

Stand-in-skipper Rishabh Pant lofted Keshav Maharaj over the ropes, but Harmer, got one delivery to bounce and even as Pant tried to defend awkwardly was caught after it flew off the shoulder of the bat to Markram.

Ravindra Jadeja (23 batting, 40 balls) joined Sai Sudharsan and hit Maharaj over deep mid-wicket for a six while adding 32 runs for the sixth wicket to delay the inevitable.

South Africa had won the first Test at Kolkata by 30 runs.

(With inputs from agencies)