South African batsmen, led by their gutsy skipper Dean Elgar, dug their heels in to reach within 122 runs of a series-levelling victory against India as the second Test seemed poised for a gripping fourth day finish here on Wednesday.

Elgar (46 not out off 121 balls) took some nasty blows off deliveries that spat off the cracks, but kept his team on course at 118-2 in pursuit of a tricky 240-run target set by India in the wake of a solid century-plus partnership from the under-fire duo of Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane.