After nine straight pars on the front nine, Jeev had three birdies and one bogey on the back nine to finish at two-under 70 for the day and move to five-under 139 for 36 holes.
But up ahead of him, local favourite Louis Oosthuizen, the 2010 Open champion, shot a stunning eight-under 64 and moved into sole lead, pushing overnight leader Thongchai Jaidee (68) to joint second place alongside Scott Jamieson (64).
Jeev had a big crowd for company in tied fourth alongside Thomas Bjorn (70), Shane Lowery (70), Julien Quesne (67) and Danny Willett 70).
Jeev, the only player in the field to log nine straight pars, birdied the 10th to move into red figures for the day. A second birdie on 14th saw him get to two-under, but a bogey on par-3 15th set him back before the Indian ace, a four-time winner on European Tour and the reigning Scottish Open champion, pulled back a birdie on 18th to keep himself in position for a good start to the season.
Earlier in the morning, it rained incessantly and resulted in a delay of almost two hours.
But Jamieson, who five weeks ago captured the Nelson Mandela Championship presented by ISPS Handa at Royal Durban, birdied four of the first six holes at Durban Country Club to join Thailand's Thongchai Jaidee on seven under. MORE