Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli batted like champions, Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma did the job with the ball in the morning session, and by the end of Day 3, India had a commanding 320-run lead with eight wickets in hand.
After bundling out South Africa for 244 to ensure a 36-run first-innings lead, India ran away to 281-2, with Pujara (135 batting) and Kohli (77 batting) engaged in a 189-run third-wicket partnership.
There was a crucial moment in India's second innings which tilted the balance in the visitors' favour. Just before lunch, Morne Morkel, South Africa's most dangerous bowler on a track with variable bounce, twisted his ankle and was taken off the field, making India's job significantly easier.
That doesn't take anything away from the innings from Pujara, however. He came in at the fall of a shaky Shikhar Dhawan (15). Vernon Philander was bowling a superb length and another wicket at that stage would have made things tricky.
Pujara was beaten a number of times outside the off-stump during that phase but he never got jittery. He looked to play as close to the body as possible and waited for the ball to lose its shine.
M Vijay (39 off 94 balls) showed maturity, cutting down on his flourish and looking to leave a lot outside off. The 70-run second-wicket partnership might not have been a lot in terms of runs but it allowed India to blunt the new ball.
Vijay was a little unlucky to nick one and get caught down the leg side off Jacques Kallis. But it brought an in-form Virat Kohli to the middle and the Indian innings motored along from there.
In Morkel's absence, the South African pace attack seemed to lose steam. Dale Steyn was running in fast but he couldn't get his line right.
He kept on bowling a little too wide outside off and the Indian batsmen kept on leaving the deliveries. Kallis did his best and got the ball to swing in but the lack of pace hurt him. Philander was the only man who looked like taking wickets but luck wasn't on his side.
It got easier for India when South Africa had to resort to spinners Imran Tahir and JP Duminy. The pitch had nothing in it for them and they lacked the consistency in line and length to contain the Indian batsmen.
With the field setting becoming defensive, there was a point in time when Pujara and Kohli were going at a run-rate of 4.5. The only blemish in Pujara's innings was a caught and bowled chance that he offered to Tahir off his own bowling on 51, but the leggie put it down. The right-hander completed his sixth century with a crisp cover drive and there was no stopping India.
Kohli on the other hand, started from where he left off on the first day. Equally fluent both on the front and back foot, he brought his wrists into. The way he is batting, a century in each innings of this Test is his for the taking.
If the batsmen had a nice afternoon party, the spadework was done by Zaheer Khan (4-88) and Ishant Sharma (4-79) in the morning session. They didn't take too long to hit the right length as the two unbeaten batsmen Philander (59) and Faf Du Plessis (20) looked to pick up some quick runs before the second new ball.
Zaheer, coming in round the wicket, got the old ball to swing both ways, keeping the batsmen on their toes. He got Philander with one on the corridor of uncertainty and Faf was almost an action replay.
Ishant, at the other end, picked up Steyn before he could do any damage. And the South African paceman's quiet day with the ball ensured that India were truly in the driver's seat.
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