India v/s South Africa 4th Test Day 5 Match Commentary: India break SA resistance to win by 337 runs

R Ashwin is the man of the series for his 31 wickets.

Ajinkya Rahane is the man of the match for his twin hundreds. He dedicates his innings to the Indian Army engaged in relief and rescue operations in Chennai, and to the people affected by the floods. What a gentleman.

OUT! That's the Test match and the series 3-0! The Proteas' innings has unravelled very quickly after tea. Fullish from Ashwin, pitches on middle and off and spins slightly away. Morne Morkel overestimates the turn and shoulders arms. The ball hits off stump and Morkel hears the death rattle. He is stunned. SA are all out for 143. India win by 337 runs.

South Africa were 136/5 at tea. 5 wickets for 7 runs after tea. What a dramatic collapse! AB de Villiers and Hashim Amla would be the most devastated players in the SA dressing room today.

OUT! Gone! The last rites being performed. The purist in me had hoped for a thrilling finish, but this is getting over fast. Short ball to Dane Piedt just outside off, he tries to leave after first wanting to play it. It flies to the right of Saha who takes a tremendous catch. SA 143/9. Umesh Yadav 3/9.

OUT! Umesh Yadav now gets the slow yorker right! The ball pitches just in front of Kyle's Abbott's foot, and he misses both line and length. Bowled for 0, SA 140/8 and the curtains are coming down on their marathon effort.

OUT! Huge moment in the match, AB de Villiers has been foxed, and India are now well on the way to victory. Good length ball from Ashwin, turns into de Villiers hip high, he fends to the on side, realises his mistake and attempts to take the bottom hand off. Too late it is, and de Villiers is caught at leg slip! 43 off 297 balls. But India have this one wrapped up, surely.

OUT! Dane Vilas falls immediately after tea! Shuffles across the off stump to cover Umesh Yadav's length, and is late on the ball. He plays onto his stumps. Vilas made 13 off 50 balls. SA 136/6.

It remains to be seen whether AB now decides to farm the strike.

South Africa have reached Tea at 136/5 off 138 overs. Just 24 mandatory overs are left, and with the light fading, we many not have many more.

AB de Villiers has played a mammoth 296 balls for his 43 not out. Dane Vilas is on 13 off 45. AB will enter the record books if he scores a half-century: for one of the slowest half centuries. But more importantly, he is about to save the game for his team.

AB de Villiers and Dane Vilas have now batted for 11.4 overs, which is crucial in the context of the game. SA are 135/5 after 136 overs. 26 overs remain.

Umesh Yadav's deliveries are still causing problems off the pitch though, and AB had to get treatment for the third time. He will hope it's the last time and he can take the side to stumps.

FOUR. AB de Villiers clubs a ball to the fence in typical AB fashion, for the first time this innings. SA are 123/5. To be fair, the ball was a poor half volley and there was no mid off. 31 overs left, at a minimum. AB has made 43 off 275 (!) balls.

OUT! JP Duminy is done. Another LBW. Duminy goes back and across and is hit in front of middle and leg. Now the lower order begins. AB is left standing, once again. The game has turned India's way, again. SA 112/5.

OUT! Sir Jadeja it is again! What is it with this guy? He has foxed Faf du Plessis, who is LBW. The match remains on edge. SA 111/4, 42 overs and a bit remain.

AB de Villiers has looked comfortable for the most part, and Faf du Plessis is also looking much better after lunch. SA are 109/3 after 119 overs, and only 43 mandatory overs remain.

There is a competition going on for playing the slowest innings.  Faf has lost it because he is on 9 off 92 balls. Hashim Amla, we remember, was on 6 off 113.

South Africa are now 100/3, in 111 overs. A minimum of 51 overs are yet to be bowled today. This match is in the balance now.

Here's the lunch match report for Day 5 of the 4th Test

And again! It happens again, but this time the ball hits AB's front hand. He releases the bat, but more in shock than pain perhaps. There was a lot of glove padding where the ball struck. Nevertheless, after getting a single off a leg bye, AB takes off his gloves and checks his hands.

It's the end of the over and it's LUNCH on Day 5. South Africa have done well to dead-bat their way through 35 overs, losing only the wicket of Hashim Amla. But some balls are beginning to misbehave off the pitch now, as we just saw. SA are 94/3 at lunch off 107 overs, but it's still India's game to lose. Hope AB is fine, he will have some medical attention over lunch.

SMASH. AB de Villiers has been hit flush on the bottom hand by an Umesh Yadav delivery that reared up from a length. He was fending, and as he got hit, de Villiers instinctively dropped his bat and walked backwards. He almost stepped onto his stumps, realised this at the last moment and avoided being hit wicket in a comical fashion. AB gets some treatment.

As the blocking continues - here is a statistic - South Africa needed to bat a minimum of 162 overs to save the game at the beginning of their innings. They have managed to bat 99 of those losing 3 wickets. Only one team has ever achieved a feat of batting more than 162 overs for a draw, in the 4th innings of a Test that is not a timeless one. This was England against South Africa back in 1995 - they managed to play out 165 overs to make 351/5. 

Faf du Plessis is on a pair, but he doesn't seem worried about that. He has now faced 22 balls for no run. There have been a few close appeals, and an AB de Villiers catch fell short of Rahane. SA 82/3, 11 runs in 21 overs today.

OUT! Hashim Amla has fallen, finally. It's Sir Ravindra Jadeja. Ball pitches on a fullish length on middle, and then spins away, off the pitch and in the air. Amla was defending straight down, and his bat was covering the wrong line. Beautiful delivery, SA 76/3. Amla out for 25 after batting 240 deliveries.

South Africa have now faced 6 consecutive maidens without blinking. Cheteshwar Pujara is being brought into the attack just to try something different.

South Africa have begun in the same way as they batted yesterday - blocking everything. They have scored 2 runs from 5 overs today.

Here are some statistical highlights from Day 4 of the game.