All results were possible heading into the final day of a beautifully poised first Test between South Africa and India at the Wanderers.
Requiring a world-record 458 to win the opening encounter of two, the Proteas had made a solid start in reaching 138 for two on the back of Alviro Petersen’s 76 not out.
That they required such a score was thanks, in the main, to stunning innings from Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli.
The former took his overnight 135 to 154 while the latter fell just four runs shy of what would have been a richly deserved second century in this match.
Attempting to cut to the fence, Kohli feathered JP Duminy behind after his partner had fallen likewise to Jacques Kallis.
Yet their departures mattered little as Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Zaheer Khan provided the necessary late acceleration.
The task facing South Africa appeared a little easier, however, as Graeme Smith and Petersen put on 108 for the first wicket.
Yet their progress was hindered in poor fashion as the former set off for a ill-judged single and was run out by Ajinkya Rahane.
Hashim Amla did not last long, bowled by a Mohammed Shami delivery that kept remarkably low – so much so that the batsman was ducking.
And, while Francois du Plessis accompanied Petersen to stumps, that dismissal illustrated the scale of the task facing South Africa.