Stats: India look to rewrite history at Cape Town
On a day which saw nine wickets fall, Hardik Pandya stood between South Africa and a massive first innings lead. Although the Proteas ended the day with a lead of 142 with eight wickets in the bank, they were looking at a first innings lead of close to 150 before the Indian all-rounder decided to take matters into his own hands.
Playing in only his fourth Test, all of which have come away from home, he scored a crucial 93 and put on 99 runs for the eighth wicket along with Bhuvneshwar Kumar. From 92-7, India managed to get to 209, eventually conceding a lead of 77.
In response, South Africa got off to a bright start but Pandya once again provided the spark late in the day as he picked up the wickets of both openers Aiden Markram and Dean Elgar to have the hosts at 65/2 at the end of play on day two. Hashim Amla and nightwatchman Kagiso Rabada are at the crease with the lead at 142 and three days still left in the game.
Here are some interesting numbers from the second day's play:
1 - Only once has a visiting team won a Test in South Africa after conceding a first innings lead of over 50 after their readmission. Australia beat South Africa despite conceding a 101-run lead in the first innings at Port Elizabeth in 1997.
1 - Only one Indian pair has registered a 100-run partnership for the eighth wicket in a Test in South Africa. Pandya and Bhuvneshwar missed the chance to join Amre and More by just one run.
2 - Hardik Pandya's 46-ball fifty is the second-fastest Test fifty by an India in South Africa. MS Dhoni scored a 40-ball fifty at Centurion in 2010, which is the fastest.
3 - Of the four Test innings that Hardik Pandya has batted, he has three fifty-plus scores.
4 - In four of Dale Steyn's last six Tests, he has gone off with an injury. Against India in Mohali 2015 (groin strain), against England at Durban in 2014 (right shoulder strain), against Australia at Perth in 2016 (fractured right shoulder) and a bruised left heel forced him off in this game.
5 - Rohit Sharma's streak of five successive Test fifties was broken after he was dismissed for 11 by Kagiso Rabada. Before this dismissal, his last five Test scores read 82, 51*, 102*, 65 and 50*.
6 - Hardik Pandya became the sixth Indian player to score a fifty on maiden Test innings in South Africa. He joins Virat Kohli, Virender Sehwag, Pravin Amre, Dinesh Karthik and Kiran More.
93 - Pandya's 93 is the highest score in a completed innings by an Indian in the 21st century where the 2nd highest score is 26 or lower.