'Wanted them to really grovel' - SA coach Shukri Conrad on keeping India on the field

South Africa wanted to make India "grovel" and spend more time than they would have liked on the field by batting an hour into the third session on day four of the Guwahati Test. South Africa extended their lead to 548 before declaring, effectively taking the home side's chances of a win off the table.

That was Shukri Conrad's explanation, when the South Africa coach was asked why his side felt they needed to set India a target far greater than the record chase of 418 in a series where they have an unassailable lead. In answering, Conrad made reference to former England captain Tony Greig's infamous comment - albeit in a different era and context - about West Indies in 1976 that galvanised the Caribbean team, who won the five-Test series 3-0.

"We obviously looked at how best we were going to use the new ball, because in the morning we still wanted a newish, hardish ball," Conrad said after the fourth day's play. "What we felt is that when the shadows come across the wicket in the evening, there's something in it for the quick bowlers, so we didn't want to declare too early and not be able to use that.

"And then, obviously, we wanted the Indians to spend as much time on their feet out in the field, we wanted them to really grovel, to steal a phrase, bat them completely out the game, and then say to them 'Come and survive on the last day and an hour this evening.' So, so far so good, but we also know that they're not just going to roll over, we're going to have to be at our very best in the morning."

South Africa have not won a series in India since 2000, had not won a Test since 2010 until last week in Kolkata, and have held the advantage throughout the Guwahati Test and want to make the most of it. After winning the toss and batting first, they recovered from 247 for 6 on day one to score 489 and then bowled India out for 201. Though South Africa could have enforced the follow-on, they chose to bat late on day three and continued deep into day four, keeping India on the field for a total of 229.4 overs. India go into day five on 27 for 2 after 15.5 overs in their second innings, and South Africa need eight wickets to sweep the series.

With 90 overs of play scheduled for day five - though several have been lost in fading light on each of the previous four days - South Africa gave themselves a minimum of 106 overs to dismiss India. On a surface that Conrad admitted had "stayed remarkably good" for batting, one of the questions facing South Africa, who went into the match without a third seamer, was how long they would need to dismiss India.

It took them 83.5 overs in the first innings, thanks largely to Marco Jansen's ability to extract extra bounce which earned him 6 for 48. Since then, Conrad confirmed South Africa expected the surface to "deteriorate a little bit more" than it had but they felt an earlier declaration would have been futile and will be comfortable with whichever way the match ends, even if it is a draw.

"I don't think there's a right and a wrong in anything. We wanted India to come out again after lunch and spend time on their feet. We saw the effects of batting for two full days in the first innings and what sort of effect it had on them," he said. "And it was never going to be easy for the opening batters to come this evening, with the new ball and shadows across the wicket. We felt we could have struck there. If tomorrow evening comes and we have them eight down and people say, 'Well, see you told you so'… we've got to base it on our sound judgement and if that doesn't work out, it doesn't. I don't think there's a right and wrong in any of this but obviously, 2-0 is a lot better than 1-0. I'd like to think that the series is secured and we're going to go all out for the win."

There is still evidence of good bounce in the surface and what Conrad described as "consistent turn," which he backs his attack to exploit. "Hopefully Marco and the spinners can do the job tomorrow. We're going to give it our best shot."

While Jansen's wicket-taking abilities are well known, over the last two months South Africa's spinners have been in the headlines during tours of Pakistan and India. Senuran Muthusamy, who has yet to bowl in this match, was player of the series in Pakistan, where he took 11 wickets in Lahore, while Simon Harmer is the joint-leading wicket-taker in the ongoing series against India. That South Africa have fielded as many as three spinners in two of the four Tests also demonstrates a changing attitude in the country's cricket, which Conrad hopes can inspire a new wave of bowlers.

"For the first time, we've thrown our weight behind spin bowlers. We've got quality spinners that can mix it with the best in the world and I believe we've got the balance of our sides right," he said. "The big thing for me is that it provides hope for young spinners back in South Africa, where we were primarily seen as a country that just throws its weight behind fast bowling. I'd like to think that the young spinners back home are saying there's hope for us now, because spinners are also part of the armoury for Proteas' attack."