Rohit moves to 199 as India reach 357/4 at lunch

Ranchi: Rohit Sharma went into lunch one short of a maiden Test double hundred after Ajinkya Rahane’s first ton at home in three years, extending India’s domination in the third match against South Africa here on Sunday.

Driven by Rohit and Rahane, India reached 357 for four.

Rohit, who has three double hundreds in the ODI format, batted with nonchalance to reach his second 150-plus score in the series and third overall. He was batting on 199 from 242 balls.

The Indian opener smashed four sixes and 28 fours, and he also had luck on his side as an inside edge off Kagiso Rabada missed the stumps narrowly while he closed in on a double in the last over before the break.

Giving him company at the other end was Ravindra Jadeja (15), the duo putting on a quick 51-run partnership from 57 balls.

India had a fruitful first session, scoring 133 runs in 27 overs at a brisk rate of 4.92, with Rohit accumulating 82 of those.

Rahane looked fluent in his 115 off 192 balls, the innings studded with 17 fours and one six.

The Mumbai duo of Rohit and Rahane spent over four hours in the middle in a record 267-run fourth-wicket partnership. The healthy run rate meant India were not affected much by Saturday’s rain interruption that forced stumps after only 58 overs.

Having dropped Rahane on 105, Heinrich Klaasen made amends by taking a good catch and give debutant George Linde his maiden Test scalp.

A glorious cover drive off Anrich Nortje set the tone for Rahane this morning as he collected three boundaries to enter the 90s before slowing down.

In between, Rahane was tested by Nortje with a bouncer and one sharp incoming delivery that struck him on his pad. But the Indians were never really troubled for a sustained period by the visitors.

The duo scored at a brisk pace, accumulating 60 runs in the first hour’s play in 14 overs.