Riding on 76 not out from Dean Elgar and unbeaten 48 from skipper Faf du Plessis, South Africa scored 153 runs at the loss of 4 wickets by lunch in Day 3 of the first Test of the three-match series in Visakhapatnam on Friday.

South Africa started the third day at 39 for 3 with Elgar and Temba Bavuma. A vicious nipping delivery from Ishant Sharma caught Bavuma plumb in front of the wickets. The right-handed batsman could only contribute 18 runs to the Proteas’ cause.

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After this, du Plessis and Elgar added 90 runs till lunchtime. Both the batsmen played sensibly and took their chances whenever opportunity knocked their doors.

Earlier, on Day 2, India declared their innings at 502 for 7 with Mayank Agarwal converting his maiden Test century into a double hundred. The youngster scored 215 runs which included 23 fours and six sixes.

Meanwhile, Rohit Sharma, who opened the innings in Tests for the first time, scored 176 runs with as many boundaries and sixes as Mayank hit.

Brief scores: India 502 for 7 (Mayank Agarwal 215, Rohit Sharma 176; Keshav Maharaj 3/89); South Africa 153 for 4 (Dean Elgar 76 not out, Faf du Plessis 48 not out, Ravichandran Ashwin 2/51)