Kanpur, April 11:

Spinner Harbhajan Singh and pace bowler Ishant Sharma shared six wickets as India wrested control of the deciding third Test away from South Africa on the first day on Friday.

India bowled South Africa out for 265, after the tourists were at one stage 152-1 and in firm control of the match approaching tea. Harbhajan Singh (3-52) and Sharma (3-53) brought India back into the game. However the pitch was already exhibiting uneven bounce, and India will face a challenge on Saturday to match South Africa’s first innings total.

The turnaround came when captain Graeme Smith (69), Hashim Amla (51) and Jacques Kallis (1) fell in the space of 27 balls late in the second session. Batting first, Smith added 61 runs for the opening stand with Neil McKenzie (36), who was stumped by India’s stand-in captain Mahendra Dhoni in leg spinner Piyush Chawla’s first over.

Amla then helped Smith add 92 for the second wicket before the skipper fell to a bat-pad catch. His 134-ball innings featured eight fours and two sixes. Smith’s departure prompted a collapse. Amla edged an inswinger from paceman Sharma onto his stumps. Amla struck six fours off 101 deliveries in his half-century. Chawla (2-66) maintained India’s momentum by removing AB de Villiers (25), who miscued a pull shot to Sourav Ganguly at short-midwicket, while Virender Sehwag trapped Ashwell Prince (16) lbw.

Mark Bouncer’s 29 was the only significant late-order contribution for South Africa. India suffered a blow before the start of play when skipper Anil Kumble was ruled unfit after failing to recover from a groin strain. Dhoni, who is India’s captain in ODIs and Twenty20 matches, became the first wicketkeeper to lead India in Tests since the country played its first Test in 1932.

SCOREBOARD

SOUTH AFRICA — 1st innings

N McKenzie st Dhoni b Chawla 36

G Smith c Jaffer b Yuvraj 69

H Amla b Sharma 51

J Kallis b Harbhajan 1

A Prince lbw b Sehwag 16

A Villiers c Ganguly b Chawla 25

M Boucher b Sharma 29

M Morkel c Dravid b Harbhajan 17

P Harris b Sharma 12

D Steyn c sub b Harbhajan 0

M Ntini not out 0

Extras: 9 (3lb, 4nb, 2w)

Total: 265

FoW: 1-61, 2-152, 3-160, 4-161, 5-199, 6-215,

7-241, 8-264, 9-265

India bowling: Sreesanth 11-0-32-0,

Sharma 12.3-1-55-3, Harbhajan 31-9-52-3, Chawla 16-3-66-2, Yuvraj 11-1-39-1,

Sehwag 6-2-18-1