South Africa were 78 for three at lunch on the opening day of the second Test against India here on Saturday.
Opting to bowl first, Indian bowlers tightened their grip on the tourists as off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin removed opener Stiaan van Zyl (10) and Faf du Plessis (0) in quick succession.
Batting mainstay AB de Villiers (19 not out) and Dean Elgar (38 not out) are standing firm at the crease after captain Hashim Amla was bowled out by pace bowler Varun Aaron for seven.
Pace spearhead Ishant Sharma replaced Umesh Yadav after serving his one-match suspension while Amit Mishra made way for bowling all-rounder Stuart Binny.