Abraham de Villiers hit a maiden double century before rain forced an early end to play on Day 2 in the second Test between India and South Africa, in Ahmedabad, on Friday.
The 24-year-old right-hand batsman was unbeaten on a fluent 217, as the visitors amassed 494 for 7 in 141.2 overs by close, for a first innings lead of 418 runs, their highest against India.
He and Jacques Kallis put on a record 256 runs for the second wicket, as the Indians, dismissed for 76 on Day 1, toiled with little success.
Kallis, who posted his 30th Test century, made a solid 132 before he was bowled by pacer S Sreesanth.
Harbhajan Singh emerged the most successful Indian bowler, claiming four for 135 runs in 40 overs, while S Sreesanth took two for 87.
Morning session: (83 runs, 29 overs)
It was a bit overcast at the start of the second day, but Irfan Pathan, who sent down the opening over, was unable to extract much help from the conditions. Harbhajan Singh continued to trouble the batsmen with his variations, and once even got Jacques Kallis (61) to fend off a rising delivery that hit his stumps but failed to dislodge the bails.
The Indians looked jaded once the batsmen settled down in the middle. Sourav Ganguly didn't help matters a bit when he let a ball through his legs for a four while fielding at the cover boundary.
De Villiers provided the impetus; he looked to keep the scoreboard moving and soon overtook Kallis. However, the latter was lucky to survive a close leg before appeal against S Sreesanth when he attempted a pull shot but was struck right in front of the stumps.
In the following over, de Villiers too had a stroke of luck as he escaped being run-out on 89. He tried to take a quick single as the ball went to fine leg, but Mahendra Singh Dhoni was unable to provide a good throw at the bowler's end.
Sreesanth again impressed with the ball as he got some prodigious movement; but every time it just missed the edge. Adding to India's woes, especially the batsmen, was the uneven bounce the pitch was offering; some deliveries from the pacers did not even bounce knee height.
However, with the new ball in operation, the South African batsmen scored at a good rate with a flurry of boundaries. Kallis took on the pacers and was ready to launch into any short deliveries that were dished out to him, including three boundaries in successive overs.
The veteran batsman brought up South Africa's 300 with a beautiful boundary straight down the ground off Irfan Pathan in the 92nd over.
De Villiers beat Kallis to the century mark, reaching the three-figure mark with a paddle sweep that went to the fine leg boundary off Sourav Ganguly. His fifth hundred in Tests came in the final over before the lunch break off 174 deliveries and included 10 boundaries.
At lunch, South Africa were comfortably placed at 306 for four in 93 overs. De Villiers was unbeaten on a splendid 102, while Kallis was not out on a solid 97, the duo having added 189 runs already for the fourth wicket.
India tried everything possible in the session but had no answers to Kallis and de Villiers, who milked the bowling without any real problems. The biggest disappointment thus far is Kumble. India desperately needs their captain to lead the way to stop South Africa from running away with the match.
Post-lunch session: (107 runs, 24 overs, 1 wicket)
Kallis brought up his century, his 30th in Test cricket, with a trademark cover drive off Ganguly in the second over after the lunch break. The veteran batsman took 228 deliveries to reach the landmark, hitting 12 boundaries and a six.
He and De Viliers brought up their 200-run partnership in 401 deliveries in the 97th over with South Africa sitting pretty on 217 for four.
Kallis scored two successive boundaries off Sreesanth in the 110th over before he lost his wicket two balls later. The right-hander was caught in two minds and got a thick edge as he prepared to leave the delivery, which crashed into his middle stump. South Africa's most experienced batsman had played a solid knock of 132, inclusive of 14 boundaries and a six off 275 balls.
He added a record 256 runs for the fifth wicket with de Villiers, which is highest for any wicket by South Africa against India, beating the previous record of 236 by Andrew Hudson and Gary Kirsten for the first wicket at Kolkata in 1996-97.
The wicket of Kallis didn't deter South Africa at all. If India had thought they would claim another few quick wickets after the exit of Kalllis, then they were mistaken.
De Villiers kept milking the bowlers all around the ground and never let the Indians exert any sort of pressure. At times, the Indian bowlers looked bereft of any ideas and it seemed they were just going through the motions.
De Villiers brought up his 150 with a flick to the fine leg boundary, his 15th boundary, off 241 deliveries, as South Africa crossed the 400-run mark in the 115th over.
It also stretched South Africa's lead to 327, the highest ever first innings lead by South Africa against India in Test cricket. Their previous best was 321 at Bangalore in March 2000 when they routed India by an innings and 71 runs.
Mark Boucher hit a boundary off the final delivery of the session to take South Africa to a mammoth 413 for five in 117 overs at the break. De Villiers was unbeaten on a fine knock of 159 that included 16 boundaries off 250 deliveries to give South Africa the command.
It remains to be seen how long India can stretch this match. After all, South Africa have dominated all the five sessions of the match and coming back from here would be anything but miraculous.
While victory is out of the question, even saving the match now looks a distant dream. However, the pitch looks good for batting and India's famed stars will need to draw on all their experience to at least snatch a fighting draw.
Post-tea session: (81 runs, 24.2 overs, 2 wickets)
Harbhajan Singh and Anil Kumble stifled the scoring rate after the tea break. Eleven overs passed without a single boundary for the addition of just 24 runs.
Mark Boucher was the first wicket to fall after tea, dismissed leg before wicket for 21. He played on the backfoot, but was beaten by the quicker delivery from Kumble.
De Villiers tried to break the shackles as he stepped down the wicket to Harbhajan and lofted him for a huge six over midwicket. The ball landed on the roof of the stands, even as the batsman fell on his back while following through with the shot, which took his score to 181.
This was now his highest score in Test cricket, bettering the 178 against the West Indies at Bridgetown in 2004-05.
Harbhajan bagged his fourth wicket, when he trapped Morne Morkel leg before wicket for 1. The left-hander had no clue to a straighter delivery and was struck on the backfoot as the visitors were reduced to 452 for seven in the 134th over.
In the same over, Harbhajan had a real blast at Sourav Ganguly for not backing the throw which went to the boundary for five runs that took De Villiers's tally to 190.
Meanwhile, De Villiers brought up his maiden double century in some style, driving Harbhajan through the covers for a boundary. The batsman from Pretoria took 320 deliveries to reach the landmark and, in the process, became the first South African to score a double century against India.
Never did he looked tried or suffering from the heat during his marathon knock that stretched nearly eight hours and showed good composure. Maybe, it was also because of their physio Shane Jabbar's contribution, who had mentioned to rediff.com how he prepared his players for the tough conditions in India.
That boundary also took South Africa to 477 for seven, taking their lead past the 400-run mark.
As dark clouds gathered over the Motera stadium and light faded, De Villiers decided it was time to have a go. He launched Kumble off the very first delivery of the 141st over for another huge six over mid-wicket to progress to 209. That shot was greeted with thunder. Soon rain followed and the players walked off, with South Africa on 494 for seven in 141.2 overs.
A total of 12.4 overs were lost because of the sudden outburst. It remains to be seen how much the downpour will affect the pitch and conditions on Day 3.
De Villiers was unbeaten on a splendid 217, having hit 17 boundaries and two sixes off 333 deliveries, during his eight-hour stay at the wicket.
At the other end, Paul Harris was not out on 9 from 22 deliveries, inclusive of a boundary.
For the second day in succession, South Africa came up trumps. They scored 217 runs for the loss of just three wickets in 77.2 overs and it was the partnership between Kallis and De Villiers that took the stuffing out of the Indian team.
The Indian bowlers once again disappointed and looked lost when the batsmen got set. Harbhajan was the most successful with a haul of four for 135 in 40 overs, while Sreesanth impressed in patches, claiming two for 87 in 23 overs.
At the end of the day, the South Africans, like most, were left wondering how Ahmedabad experienced rain in April, though, with three days to go, they have plenty of time to play for victory.
