The blockathon will continue on day five of this fourth and final Test match of the Freedom Series between India and South Africa – for how long remains to be seen.
Hashim Amla showed just how good a defence he has in an epic innings, with Temba Bavuma and AB De Villiers also joining in the defend, defend, defend not-so-fun.
Amla, who has played 207 deliveries, and De Villiers are the crease with South Africa losing only two wickets in over 70 overs, and the only thing that will matter on the final day at the Feroz Shah Kotla in Delhi on Monday will be time.
South Africa, who also have Faf Du Plessis, JP Duminy and Dane Vilas to come among the batsmen, will want to play out the six hours of play on Day 5, while India will target eight more wickets before that clock ticks to 4.30 pm IST.
"It's a surprise as we did not think that they would play like this," India fast bowler Umesh Yadav said when asked about South Africa's defend-only tactics. "The way they are defending is a surprise and they are not even trying to play a shot.
"Even deliveries they can score are being defended."
Umesh admitted it was pretty "boring" to see South Africa not even make an attempt at chasing down the target, even if the target might have always been out of reach.
"It becomes a challenge when batsman does not play a shot as chances of getting a player out decreases," the fast bowler added. "When a batsman does not take any initiative then even if you bowl a good delivery, he will just block it out.
"I can tell you this kind of cricket can be very boring, because you just are bowling over after over and nothing is happening.
"It becomes so boring that you start thinking as to whether something will happen or not.
Umesh, though, is confident India can pick up the necessary eight wickets, and with it clinch the Test series 3-0.
"Our first target will be to dismiss them as quickly as possible," the bowler, who was impressive in the first innings, but found very little assistance from the pitch in the second, added. "So I don't think that they will survive the whole day without giving any catches.
"You never know that the character of the wicket might change [on day five]."
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India vs South Africa 4th Test, Day 5 is scheduled for a 9.30 am IST (4 am GMT, 6 am SAST, 12 am ET) start. Live coverage of the Test match in India will be on Star Sports 3, Star Sports 1, Star Sports HD3 and Star Sports HD1. The match can also be watched via live streaming online on Starsports online and Hotstar .
OSN Sports and OSN Play (live stream) will broadcast the fourth Test match in the Middle East and North Africa live. Viewers in South Africa can watch the Test match live on SuperSport, with the online live stream option on SuperSport Live.
Audience in the US can watch India vs South Africa 4th Test match live on Willow TV, and the action can also live streamed on Willow TV online. Sky Sports 2 is the place to be to watch India vs South Africa live in the UK, with the live streaming online option on Watch Sky Sports.
