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Johannesburg: India bowlers fought back strongly in the final session to deny South Africa a historical victory and restricted them to 450/7, securing a thrilling draw in the first Test at New Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg.
Chasing a mammoth 458-run target, hosts, riding on a brilliant show by Faf du Plessis (134) and AB de Villiers (103), were on course for a famous win before the visitors bounce back in the final session with a disciplined show.
Pacers Ishant Sharma and Mohammed Shami dismissed AB de Villiers and JP Duminy in quick succession to give India some hopes.
South Africa's Faf du Plessis led from the front as he cracked fighting century to leave India clueless. Du Plessis played 252 balls to reach his third Test hundred which was studded with 12 fours.
South Africa are well on course to surpass West Indies's record of highest successful chase in fourth innings. Windies chased down 418 for seven to beat Australia in St Johns in 2003.
Indian bowlers failed to get a single wicket post lunch as Faf du Plessis and AB de Villiers batted through the session.
Du Plessis (88*) and De Villiers (72*) added an unbeaten 134-run stand to take South Africa 331/4 at tea on Day 5, require 127 more runs to win the last session.
The duo defied the Indian bowling to stitch century stand and put South Africa in firm control.
Faf du Plessis, AB de Villiers were batting well in tandem to score fifty apiece and leave India struggling for the wickets.
De Villiers took 85 balls to make his 34th Test fifty with the help of eight boundaries. Du Plessis smashed a boundary off Mohammed Shami towards deep square leg to reach his third Test half-century.
Earlier, India grabbed two wickets in the first session to reduce South Africa to 236 for 4 at lunch as the match remained wide open for a result.
Faf du Plessis (42) and AB de Villiers (25) were at the crease at the break at Wanderers, after Zaheer Khan (15-0-61-1) had dismissed Jacques Kallis to take his 300th Test wicket in his 89th match.
The Proteas scored 98 runs in the first session in 29 overs and need another 222 runs to win with two sessions remaining, while India need six more wickets. But, an injured Morne Morkel is doubtful to come out and bat after he twisted his ankle on Day three.
South Africa began the day at their overnight score of 138/2, with Alviro Petersen on 76 and du Plessis on 10.
Pacer Mohammed Shami (17-3-63-2) was the first bowler deployed by skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni as India hunted for their second Test win at this ground in four Tests played here. He bowled with fire, moving the ball both ways despite the ball being 45 overs old.
Peterson started with a lazy shot on the very first ball of the day, an uncharacteristic one given how he played in the evening session of day four. Even as the batsman may have hoped to get his hundred, it was a pointer that perhaps this was not going to be his day.
And four overs later, Shami found a way past his defence. An incoming delivery kept low and Peterson got an inside edge onto his stumps. He was out for 76, without adding a run to his overnight score. In all, he faced 162 balls and hitting nine fours.
Shami was bowling a fiery five-over spell in first hour, which yielded 56 runs, and he had a loud appeal against Kallis turned down first ball. The ball seemed to be going down leg-side by a few inches and the great all-rounder escaped a golden pair. Kallis found his bearings thereafter, scoring at a quick clip with a streak of boundaries, and scored 31 of the 50-run partnership with du Plessis.
Kallis, however, seemed to be in a hurry chasing down a huge score and looked set, when umpire Rod Tucker wrongly adjudged him LBW off Zaheer in the 61st over. He was out for 34 runs off 37 balls, as a huge inside edge rocked his front pads.
But the umpire's finger went up and Kallis became Zaheer's 300th Test victim in his 89th Test. The veteran left-arm speedster is the fourth highest wicket-taker for India in Test cricket, after Anil Kumble (619 wickets in 132 Tests), Kapil Dev (434 wickets in 131 Tests) and Harbhajan Singh (413 wickets in 101 Tests).
The 200 came up for South Africa in the 61st over, as de Villiers and du Plessis avoided further damage. Spin was introduced in the 65th over, with R Ashwin (21-3-49-0) coming to bowl, while Virat Kohli (2-0-7-0) was introduced into the attack with 15 minutes to go for lunch.
De Villiers survived an LBW appeal in the 71st over, bowled by Ashwin, but the ball appeared to be sailing above leg-stump. Shami bowled the final over before the break and the batsman survived another LBW call, with the ball seeming to sail just above the off-stump.
Brief scores
India 280 (Kohli 119, Philander 4-61) and 421 (Pujara 153, Kohli 96)
South Africa 244 (Ishant 4-79, Zaheer 4-88) and 450 for 7 (du Plessis 134, de Villiers 103)
Result Match Drawn
