Ravindra Jadeja (4-87) was having the day of his life with the ball and three wickets had gone down early on, making it the perfect scenario for Kallis to pull off another rescue act. He has done this for South Africa for the last 18 years and he did it again with help from AB de Villiers (74) and JP Duminy (28).
When rain forced play to be called off with 16 overs to go for stumps, nightwatchman Dale Steyn (batting on no score) was giving Kallis (batting on 78) company, with the score reading 299/5. South Africa are still 35 runs adrift of India and if they can take a lead of close to 100, it can be a tough grind for India on the last two days.
If Kallis, closing in on his 45th Test century on his farewell, stole the limelight, it was Jadeja who got India going early on. Dhoni introduced the left-arm spinner right from the beginning and he was absolutely tireless. With the pitch turning a bit, Jadeja hit a line just outside off and looked to take the ball away from the right handers. He kept pitching it on the right spot and there were no easy runs for the South African openers Graeme Smith and Alviro Petersen. Dhoni kept rotating his pacers from the other end, but they didn't get too much purchase.
Jadeja's first strike, though, was more about some superb fielding by Shikhar Dhawan. Smith came down the track and looked to play over mid-on but the ball sailed over mid-wicket. Dhawan, running back, kept his eye on the ball and completed a superb running catch.
After Hashim Amla's (3) stumps were rocked back by an off-cutter from Mohammad Shami, Kallis walked in. The Indians gave him a guard of honour, emotions were running high, and it seemed to affect Petersen more. He edged one off Jadeja that was leaving him and Vijay took a catch at first slip, diving forward.
This was the moment of danger for South Africa. De Villiers and Kallis hadn't opened their account, Jadeja was looking threatening and the Indian close-in fielders were trying to pounce on anything that was on offer. De Villiers, though, looked a picture of confidence against the pace bowlers, hitting a few quick boundaries and getting the scoreboard moving. But the defining moment of the 127-run partnership came when Kallis came down the track and hit Jadeja for a couple of boundaries over mid-off. Suddenly, the pressure was off and Jadeja was not looking as threatening.
The left-armer, to his credit, didn't lose heart. He stuck to the line around the off-stump and the few that spun and bounced had the batsmen in trouble. De Villiers, who looked good for his second century on the trot, was dismissed that way when he looked to drive one spinning away from him and Virat Kohli took the catch.
An out-of-form Duminy walked in and a wicket at that stage could have set it up really well for India. But the left-hander tried to play himself in, cut down on his flourish, and battled hard. Kallis, at the other end, was extremely assured in every step that he was taking. He was coming to the front foot, played with soft hands, and looked to smother the spin. Kallis let go a few that turned sharply while Dhawan, fielding at silly point, couldn't get down on time to one that had jumped a bit, hit his bat, and carried. That was one stroke of luck that Kallis had, and he didn't let the chance go.
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