Cape Town: The weather could decide the outcome of the decider. If the sun continues to shine, then the cracks in the surface should widen. If there is a cloud cover, the pitch could hold firm.

The second day of the third Castle Test belonged to South Africa. The host came back strongly to dismiss India for 414 and then moved to a confident 144 for one at stumps on Wednesday.

Skipper Greame Smith (76 batting, 111b, 11x4, 1x6) and Hashim Amla (50 batting, 128b, 6x4) have added an unbeaten 130 runs in 37 overs.

India is still in with a chance, considering South Africa will bat last. The Indian collapse — the last five wickets were dismissed for 19 — might have actually opened up the Test.

Anil Kumble remains the key to the Test. He was handled well by Smith and Amla, but this was only the second day. The leggie must straightway bowl at Smith on Thursday from round the wicket, getting the ball to jump into the southpaw from the rough.

The pressure on Smith must have been enormous, particularly after A.B. de Villiers departed, done in by a delivery that swung into him by the lively Sreesanth.

This was a day when Smith roared past the 4000-run mark in Tests.

Hashim Alma's place at No. 3 was on the line. He handled the situation admirably. There was a ring of authority about his stroke-play on both sides of the wicket; his bat was coming down straighter too.

It was hard going for the Indian bowlers. Sreesanth bowled with heart and skill. Zaheer Khan was not particularly impressive, but Munaf Patel sent down a testing spell in the last hour, making the batsman play, achieving movement, and extracting lift.

Breakthrough

Steyn provided the host the breakthrough. The paceman had probed Laxman with out-swing around the off-stump. This delivery pitched in the middle and moved slightly away. Laxman, opened up and tricked into playing inside the line, saw the ball hitting the off-stump.

Smith's 6-3 field for Sachin Tendulkar was interesting; the only fielder in the deep was at fine-leg. The skipper was inviting Tendulkar to drive with two slips and a gully in place.

The heat was on Sourav Ganguly as he walked in. A lifter from Steyn rattled his helmet. But the determined southpaw dug in. Tendulkar, meanwhile, was beginning to blossom. The maestro whipped Steyn to the square-leg fence. Then, when Ntini returned, he greeted the paceman with an immaculate straight drive.

Ntini got Tendulkar to edge one short of second slip, but the maestro soon flicked the paceman to reach his half-century. Importantly, he had handled the new ball competently.

India required a partnership after Laxman's early dismissal and the right-left combination of Tendulkar (64, 130b, 11x4) and Ganguly (66, 75b, 9x4, 1x6) constructed a crucial 68-run fifth-wicket stand in 14.4 overs.

Smith tossed the ball to Paul Harris from the press-box end. The left-arm spinner bowled from over the wicket, aiming at the rough, with an attacking field in place.

Left-arm spinners have troubled Tendulkar and Harris got a few deliveries to spin across the blade, before forcing the batsman to edge a similar ball to Jacques Kallis at slip.

Ganguly, after the aberration at Kingsmead, was focussed and solid. He was fluent on the off-side, cracking Pollock and Ntini to point and cover fence. He collected runs on the on-side too with flicks and pulls. Like at the Wanderers, the second half of the innings revolved around him.

The southpaw was concerned in another partnership, this time with Virender Sehwag. The two share mutual admiration; this is reflected in the manner they communicate at the crease.

Sehwag (40, 50b, 6x4, 1x6) made light of the pressure with free-spirited stroke-play, cover-driving Pollock, hoisting Harris over the mid-wicket ropes, and then making room to smash the spinner through covers. He was also comfortable being away from the new ball.

India had gambled with Sehwag's inclusion for two reasons — he would add depth to batting, and his off-spin might prove handy.

Sehwag dominates

Sehwag dominated the 58-run sixth-wicket stand in 12.4 overs with Ganguly, before being held well by Ntini at deep square-leg off Harris.

Harris and the crafty Pollock cleaned up the lower order — India lost last five wickets for 19 runs — but there was time enough for Ganguly to display his big-hitting skills, dumping Harris into the mid-wicket stand. Harris, though, became the first South African spinner since the country's readmission to claim four wickets on debut.

SCOREBOARD

India _ 1st innings: W. Jaffer c Kallis b Steyn 116, D. Karthik c Amla b Harris 63, R. Dravid c Boucher b Pollock 29, S. Tendulkar c Kallis b Harris 64, V.V.S. Laxman b Steyn 13, S. Ganguly c Amla b Pollock 66, V. Sehwag c Ntini b Harris 40, A. Kumble lbw b Pollock 0, Zaheer Khan st Boucher b Harris 1, S. Sreesanth c Gibbs b Pollock 3, M. Patel (not out) 0; Extras (b-5, lb-4, nb-8, w-2) 19. Total (all out, in 131.1 overs) 414.

Fall of wickets: 1-153 (Karthik), 2-202 (Dravid), 3-240 (Jaffer), 4-269 (Laxman), 5-337 (Tendulkar), 6-395 (Sehwag), 7- 395 (Kumble), 8-398 (Zaheer), 9- 407 (Sreesanth).

South Africa bowling: Steyn 27-12-58-2, Ntini 26-4-107-0, Pollock 29.1-9-75-4, Kallis 12-4- 36-0, Harris 37-3-129-4.

South Africa _ 1st innings: G. Smith (batting) 76, A.B. de Villiers c Karthik b Sreesanth 1, H. Amla (batting) 50; Extras (b-3, lb-7, nb-7): 17. Total (for one wkt.): 144.

Fall of wicket: 1-14 (de Villiers).

India bowling: Zaheer 10-0- 39-0, Sreesanth 11-4-36-1, Kumble 12-0-39-0, Patel 7-3-19-0, Sehwag 1-0-1-0.

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