Cape Town, Jan 4:The final Test of the three-match series between India and South Africa is well poised as hosts South Africa finished Day 3 with the score at 52/2. This after India had folded for 364 runs in their first innings, taking a two-run lead against the hosts.

The South African openers – Graeme Smith and Alviro Petersen – began their side’s second innings playing positively against the Indian pacers. Runs were scored at a fair clip, with the first 50 runs coming in just 13.1 overs. But with Harbhajan Singh trapping both Smith (29) and night-watchman Paul Harris (0) LBW shortly before the close of play, India came right back into the match. The hosts finished the day at 52/2 with Hashim Amla (0*) and Petersen (22*) in the middle.

Earlier, the very first over of the morning set the tone for the day. Sachin Tendulkar, then batting on 49, edged a delivery from Dale Steyn to wicketkeeper Mark Boucher that had the South African team jump in delight. However, umpire Ian Gould ruled Tendulkar not out as it appeared that the ball had bounced before it had been caught by Boucher. Television replays corroborated Gould’s decision.

Despite the bit of luck going in their favour initially, Gautam Gambhir and Tendulkar found it difficult to break free of the shackles. The duo could manage a mere 24 runs off the first ten overs of the day as the score inched forward to 166/2. It was a fascinating contest to watch, particularly that between a probing Dale Steyn and a resolute Tendulkar.

The situation didn’t change much when Graeme Smith replaced Steyn and Morne Morkel with Paul Harris and Lonwabo Tsotsobe. Runs were hard to come by and when India reached the 200-run mark, only 58 runs had been scored in the first 19 overs of the day. Paul Harris then got the vital breakthrough - Gambhir edged a catch to Boucher bringing an end to his 176-run partnership with Tendulkar. Gambhir departed at 93 and at the fall of his wicket, India were 204/3.

The responsibility of shoring up India’s total then fell on Tendulkar. And even though the master was beaten repeatedly in an exceptional eight-over spell by Tsotsobe, he played some lovely strokes to keep the scoreboard ticking. Tendulkar was lucky to be dropped by Harris who missed a caught and bowled chance, but non-striker Laxman was less lucky. The dropped ball brushed off the spinner’s fingertips to leave VVS Laxman (15) stranded at the non-striker’s end.

Indiathen resumed the post-Lunch session at 237/4. With South Africa having taken of the second new ball a couple of overs before Lunch, Dale Steyn bowled with great speed and venom. He removed Cheteshwar Pujara (2) and MS Dhoni (0) off fast swinging deliveries that left India in serious trouble at 247/6.

But Tendulkar was in no mood to oblige the South African pacers with his wicket. He brought up his 51st Test century with a miscued hook shot that went for six, but was largely watchful in his innings thereafter. What helped India’s cause, besides Tendulkar’s defiant knock of 146, was a spirited innings of 40 from Harbhajan Singh. One of the highlights of the session was a miraculous escape for Harbhajan, a Steyn delivery brushing the stumps but failing to dislodge the bails. The Tendulkar-Harbhajan partnership aggregated 76 runs for the seventh wicket before Harbhajan, trying to pull a short delivery from Dale Steyn, was caught by substitute JP Duminy at deep square-leg.

Tendulkar’s innings finally came to an end shortly after the fall of Harbhajan’s wicket, the master bowled by a Morne Norkel delivery that held its line after pitching. But with Zaheer Khan (23) hitting a couple of big shots, the Indian tail managed to sneak a 2-run advantage over the hosts by posting a total of 364. For South Africa, Dale Steyn was once again the pick of the bowlers with a 5-wicket haul to his credit.

Brief Score (At end of Day 3):South Africa 1st innings 362 in 112.5 overs (Jacques Kallis 161, S Sreesanth 5/99) and 2nd innings 52/2 in 16 overs (Alviro Petersen 22*,Hashim Amla 0*, Harbhajan Singh 2/4); India 1st innings 364 in 117.1 overs (Sachin Tendulkar 146, Dale Steyn 5/75)

At Tea:India 1st innings 316/6 in 107 overs (Sachin Tendulkar 136*, Harbhajan Singh 34*)

At Lunch:India 1st innings 237/4 in 82 overs (Sachin Tendulkar 94*, Cheteshwar Pujara 2*)

After Day 2: India 1st innings 142/2 in 50 overs (Gautam Gambhir 65*, Sachin Tendulkar 49*)

After Day 1: South Africa 1st innings 232/4 in 74 overs (Jacques Kallis 81*, Ashwell Prince 28*)