Amit Mishra provides crucial breakthroughs

Amit Mishra, who had struggled to buy a wicket until the penultimate day of the series, provided two inspirational moments for India just before two breaks to keep India hopeful on a day that they could managed only 157 minutes of play.

Graeme Smith came out bull-headed and Alviro Petersen had almost batted out the one-hour first session when Mishra was introduced for the first time in the day. Smith made sure he didn't make the mistake Ashwell Prince and JP Duminy did in the first innings. His first instinct was to play at every delivery, but he watched the rotations closely, and only if certain of an offbreak he left it alone. Against Zaheer, Smith took a middle and off guard, covering the stumps better, preventing a repeat of the earlier two dismissals.

Five minutes before the break, though, Mishra got him with his first delivery: an accurate legbreak, pitching off, turning in, beating the angled bat, and trapping him in front.

After that wicket-maiden, it took Mishra time to get the ball again. Harbhajan Singh was looking menacing, and MS Dhoni kept pace bowlers at the other end, looking to utilise the new ball. When he did get the ball again, he bowled from the Pavilion End as opposed to the High Court End.

By the time Mishra finished four overs in his second spell, Harbhajan had had a long spell, and Dhpni gave the legspinner a change of ends. And again, minutes before another break - this time because of bad light - Mishra stuck again, removing another dangerous batsman, Jacques Kallis, with a special delivery.

It landed around middle, Kallis had to play at it, made provision for the spin as he did, but the ball turned more than budgeted, took a thin edge, and settled in MS Dhoni's gloves. It was a big moment in an important day's play: two balls before the dismissal the umpires discussed the light situation, and four balls later walked off for bad light.