It was day 79 and the light was fading fast at the Assam Cricket Association ground in Barsapara. Captain Rishabh Pant ran to third man where Jasprit Bumrah was coming in and asked if he was playing the last over. Bumrah, who had already bowled 16 overs for the day, nodded yes and the new captain soon took the new ball. With the fresh red cherry under flood-lights, Bumrah came back and threatened the batters but didn’t get another wicket.

While South Africa looked set to end the day on a high, it was Mohammed Siraj, charging in from the other end, who stole the show late on. Fading light, light meter, the ball bouncing and moving a little more — everything suddenly came into the equation when left-hander Tony de Zorzi, who was looking immensely solid until then, nicked one. There was jubilation in the India camp and when the stumps were drawn with South Africa at 247/6 three balls later, the visitors might have felt that they had let go of the upper hand they had battled so hard for through the opening day of the second Test here.

However, the game is very much in the balance on a red-soil pitch that has significantly better batting than Kolkata’s Eden Gardens. There was initial carry and an even bounce and the only point of concern was that the ball didn’t come on to the bat.

That was one of the reasons why Temba Bavuma (41), after looking well settled, couldn’t time his uppish drive off Ravindra Jadeja early in the third session. The ball went to Yashasvi Jaiswal midway through the match and the South African skipper’s wicket helped India get their first foot in the door.

Markram (38) and Ryan Rickelton (35) put their heads down, grafted and came close to playing out a potentially dangerous opening two hours of the day. But Bumrah (1-38) had the last laugh when he got the ball back in the final over before lunch and Markram, who was attempting an expansive off-drive, was bowled.

Just after lunch, Kuldeep Yadav came into action with a left arm corkscrew. His googly left Rickelton, took an edge and Pant completed the catch. At 82-2, expectations rose for a few more, but it was Bavuma and Tristan Stubbs (49) who got going. With no serious demons on the field, the duo put their heads down and battled for runs, taking a toll on the rare loose balls. While the Indian spinners led by Kuldeep (3-48), kept it tight, Bavuma and Stubbs didn’t try to be adventurous either.

The crowd, getting their first taste of Test cricket at home, got impatient every now and then. But they were prepared to wait for the Indian bowlers to give them some joy on a hot Saturday afternoon. Which they got once the last session started. After Jadeja dismissed Bavuma, Kuldeep got his drift going beautifully. He caught Stubbs (49) in search of a half-century off guard and started to look seriously menacing. He got his pace right, rarely got the length wrong and was rewarded with Wian Mulder’s wicket, who failed to clear the inner ring looking for a shot in the air.

And once De Zorzi was dismissed late on, there was some relief in the India camp. But no one seemed to be sure what a good score was.