Live Cricket Score: South Africa vs India, 3rd Test, Day 4, Johannesburg - India three wickets away from winning in Johannesburg

9.6: M Shami to Amla, Defended off the back foot by the batsman.

9.5: M Shami to Amla, Outside off, left alone.

9.4: M Shami to Amla, FOUR! This is through the covers! Shami is again short and Amla crunches this through the covers. Kohli now has fielders protecting the boundary!

9.3: M Shami to Amla, On a good length outside off, coming in, Hashim shuffles across and looks to flick but misses and wears it on the thigh pads. Shami appeals but height is the issue.

9.2: M Shami to Amla, FOUR! MURDERED! Short and wide outside off, Amla crashes it behind point for a boundary!

9.1: M Shami to Amla, A bouncer around off, Amla sways away.

Mohammed Shami to bowl from the other end.

8.6: J Bumrah to Elgar, Stays back in his crease and blocks.

8.5: J Bumrah to Elgar, The batsman does well to stand tall and play that short delivery.

8.4: J Bumrah to Elgar, This one shoots off too, from a length, Elgar somehow rides it down.

8.4: J Bumrah to D Elgar, FIVE WIDES! That has come out of nowhere. Very first ball of the day. It is a bouncer, yes, but the ball pitches and then shoots towards the sky. Poor Parthiv has no chance even with a leap.

Okay! We are ready for the game to begin. The conditions are fairly overcast as Hashim Amla and Dean Elgar make their way out to the middle. They are smiling as of now, only time will tell for how long will they keep smiling once the pitch starts to misbehave. Jasprit Bumrah to continue his pending over.

1030 LOCAL UPDATE - The umpires have had a look and are okay with a 11 am start. Lunch has been pushed back by half an hour while Tea will be extended by 15 minutes. The final session too, will be of 135 minutes, not to forget, the extra half hour available.

Mike Haysman informs us that there is some dampness on the pitch and on the outfield as well. Plenty of sawdust is sprayed on the field and the ground staff has its work cut out. Haysman adds that no one is sure when the game will start either. But he has a positive comment to end the topic - the forecast is clear for the rest of the day.

A DELAYED START. Not because of what happened last evening but because of the early morning shower. The umpires will have an inspection at 1030 local (0830 GMT). Let us wait then.

WEATHER - There were some showers early in the morning following which, the pitch was covered but now, that cover has been removed, which should enable a timely start.

PITCH REPORT - Shaun Pollock has a close look at the good length area where the cracks have gone wider. The grass cover is still there which is why the unevenness is present. Also, the divots around the cracks are deviating the ball in wild directions. He spots plenty of such divots in the areas between good and short lengths. Plenty of movement is predicted and a lot of hard work is desired from the batsmen. Also, majority of the hard work has to be done when the ball is new because once it gets softer, it will be easier to play.

When Sanjay Manjrekar makes such a fine observation, can the effervescent Harsha Bhogle be far behind? He has his own point to make. When the ball is between 1-40 overs old, it is hard and shoots off the cracks off a good length and hits the batsmen. But beyond the 40th over, the older ball is not that dangerous because it gets softer. So if the batsmen manage to negotiate the time till the 40th over, they could find life easier in the middle. Now, Jonty Rhodes asks - what if a couple of batsmen get hurt in the wrong areas in that period? A smile is what we get from all three gentlemen.

Sanjay Manjrekar makes a terrific observation. He has jotted down some points from the first and third Tests. He looks at the Cape Town pitch and says that yes, even there, the players were finding it difficult to play balls, with some of them coming near their faces. But over there, all balls shot from a short length - not a good length. Here, in this pitch, if look at the batsmen getting hit, apart from Dean Elgar, every other bloke has been hit from a good length. So he differentiates the two tracks pretty beautifully. The Cape Town pitch is a DIFFICULT pitch. The Johannesburg pitch is a DANGEROUS pitch.

Indian batsmen, often dismissed as 'flattrack bullies', showed their class and courage on an action-packed third day of the third Test against South Africa, braving repeated blows to the body to set a challenging target of 241. In response, the South African batsmen had struggled to 17/1 when Dean Elgar was hit on the helmet by a short delivery from pacer Jasprit Bumrah. CLICK TO READ MORE

In the press conference last evening, the Indians were ready to play while the Proteas were okay with whatever is the decision of the match officials. Not too surprised with the Indians ready to play, given that they are not batting anymore. Same goes for the South Africans - they did not complain when the Indians were getting hit. But as a personal opinion, I reckon better call this game off. Is a dead rubber that big a game wherein you risk a player getting hit? Not in my opinion, even if a side is robbed of a chance to win.

First things first. WE ARE PLAYING. There was a lot of talk regarding the pitch and plenty of uncertainty surrounded the future of this Test. But as of now, the official word is that PLAY WILL START ON TIME and the umpires will continue monitoring the pitch closely for any signs of further deterioration. Let's talk cricket then.

... DAY 4, SESSION 1 ...

Right then, there is uncertainty looming over the game. Will the match get abandoned? Will it go forward? These questions remain unanswered for the time being. If play resumes tomorrow, South Africa will have to bat out of their skins to get back into the contest on this notorious pitch. Assuming that a tomorrow does come, do join us at 1000 local (0800 GMT) for all the action from Day 4. ADIOS! TAKE CARE!

Kagiso Rabada was the standout bowler for the hosts and took a 3-fer. Morkel and Philander also took 3 wickets but they failed to make optimum use of the track. Chasing a target of 241 on this track is a daunting task and as they came out to bat again, they found it out. Shami nipped out Markram with a beauty of a delivery and bowled a fiery spell. Elgar took a few blows and looked completely at sea before that hit on the temple which halted the game.

India's day completely and they are in pole position at the moment. Even though they lost a couple of quick wickets, Kohli showed a lot of confidence and guided his side to safe harbors along with Rahane. They batted sensibly, showed positive intent whenever required and put the poor balls away at ease. It is important to assert yourself on a track which is playing a lot of tricks. The Indians doing that dented the morale of the Proteas and they also dropped some catches to let the game slip away. Kumar also played a very useful knock down the order and proved his street smartness while Shami had fun to loot away some runs.

For now, it is STUMPS ON DAY 3. What a way to go into the break. Full of drama. Nothing about the match status as yet.

More drama. The floodlights were already switched on and it has started to drizzle! On come the covers. Looks a passing shower but play is suspended for now.

The on-air commentators explain us about the situation. They say that the umpires need to consult both the captains before calling the game off. Meanwhile, Kohli and du Plessis walk inside along with the umpires. Certainly it has got to do with the safety of the batsmen but you need to be fair to both the sides. Kohli is definitely not happy but Shastri calms him down. Guess it is going to be a heated room under air-conditioning.

Ok. THE PLAYERS ARE WALKING OFF THE FIELD. Virat Kohli is understandably not happy with the situation. His gestures seem to indicate that India braved the same pitch the whole day. But he has no option other than walking off. Match referee Andy Pycroft has walked out to the middle, had a chat with the umpires and then walking back. Coach Ravi Shastri wants some confirmation and Pycroft gives him some news. Nothing more.

This is now getting out of control. The balls are exploding like a bomb does. A lot of thinking to do for the umpires. Ian Gould and Aleem Dar are walking across towards the boundary in silence. The match referee, Andy Pycroft is being called into action. Grim faces in the South African dressing room. Faf du Plessis is waiting in anticipation. There is some arm waving from Dar. He is walking towards Virat Kohli who is looking angry. He has a right to be that way as India also batted on this surface.

8.3: J Bumrah to Elgar, OUCH! On the helmet! This is really shocking. The pitch, really. Poor Elgar. Thank God, he is alive. A short ball, outside off, Elgar looks to hop and fend but the ball bounces out of nowhere, goes above the glove and hits him right above the grille of the helmet. Elgar straightaway takes his helmet and gloves off and calls for the physio. Ajinkya Rahane is the first one to check with Elgar and now Hashim Amla comes over. This does not look good at all. The umpires get together for a chat while Elgar receives medical attention.

8.2: J Bumrah to Elgar, On middle, tucked through square leg for a couple.

8.1: J Bumrah to Elgar, On middle and leg, Elgar looks to tuck but misses and is hit on the thigh pads.

Jasprit Bumrah is into the attack. He got a fifer in the first innings. India will pin their hopes on him to be at his belligerent best.

7.6: M Shami to Amla, Ooh.. Shami is breathing fire! Bowls a pacy delivery around off and gets it to skid after pitching. Amla covers the line and keeps it out.

7.5: M Shami to Elgar, Short of a length outside off, punched firmly off the back foot through covers. Kohli sprints after it and does well to restrict the batsmen to only a run.

7.4: M Shami to Elgar, FOUR! Stylishly played! Short of a length around off, Elgar lifts his front leg and pulls it past the short leg fielder to the deep square leg fence. He is not going to go down with a fight.

7.3: M Shami to Elgar, Hitting the deck hard at 141 clicks, Elgar sits back and does well to keep it out.

7.2: M Shami to Elgar, Well played eventually! On a length on off, lifts off a bit. Elgar plays it with soft hands towards the gully region.

7.1: M Shami to Elgar, Short of a length ball in line of the stumps, defended stoutly off the back foot.

6.6: B Kumar to Amla, Another one in the avenue of anxiety, Hashim is in no mood to flirt with it.

A leg gully in place now.

6.5: B Kumar to Amla, Back of a length ball in that probing off stump channel, Amla watches it closely and leaves it alone.

6.4: B Kumar to Amla, The batsman shows the full face of the bat and defends the ball off the back foot.

6.3: B Kumar to Elgar, In line of the stumps, swinging in, tucked to fine leg to rotate strike.

6.2: B Kumar to Elgar, Angling across the southpaw. He plants his front foot across to allow it through.