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India coach Greg Chappell said some senior players could be under pressure following the team’s defeat in the series-deciding third and final Test against South Africa at Newlands.

South Africa completed a come-from-behind 2-1 series victory on Saturday with a five-wicket win despite rain causing a delay of three hours 45 minutes before they reached their target of 211.

Chappell said India’s batting had been disappointing.

He singled out the second innings collapse to 169 all out but also said the team had failed to capitalise fully on winning the toss when they made 414 in the first innings. The Australian said some hard choices would have to be made.

South Africa completed a come-from-behind series victory when they beat India by five wickets on the fifth day of the third and final Test at Newlands here on Saturday. Captain Graeme Smith and Shaun Pollock set South Africa on the way to their win with aggressive batting early in the day before rain caused a delay of three hours and 45 minutes.

Left-arm opening bowler Zaheer Khan struck twice when played resumed, dismissing both Smith and Pollock, but Jacques Kallis and Ashwell Prince then picked up from where the earlier pair had left off and crafted a 77-run partnership to consign India to their third series defeat in as many tours of South Africa.

Star Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar was prevented by match officials from batting in his usual position on the fourth day of the third and final Test against South Africa at Newlands on Friday because he had been off the field at the end of South Africa’s first innings.

There was a six-minute delay between the fall of India’s second wicket and the arrival on the field of Sourav Ganguly.

As the delay lengthened there were boos from the crowd, while the South African players asked umpires Daryl Harper and Asad Rauf about the “timed out” rule whereby a batsman can be given out if he is not ready to face within three minutes of the previous wicket falling.

Anil Kumble took four wickets as India squeezed out a potentially crucial 41-run first innings lead on the third day of the third and final Test at Newlands on Thursday.

India successfully employed strangulation tactics as South Africa were bowled out for 373 shortly before the close, with veteran leg-spinner Kumble taking four for 117.

South Africa had three productive partnerships but on a slow pitch, each time a wicket fell it led to at least one more soon afterwards.

South African captain Graeme Smith led a confident South African response after India lost their last five wickets for 19 runs on the second day of the third and final Test at Newlands on Wednesday.

South Africa were 144 for one at the close in reply to India’s first innings of 414.

Smith (76 not out) and Hashim Amla (50 not out) put on an unbeaten 130 for the second wicket. The left-handed Smith, who struggled for form throughout 2006 before finishing the year with a half-century in the second Test in Durban, batted aggressively.

South Africa coach Mickey Arthur said he was “hugely frustrated” after a power failure and bad light halted his team’s surge on the third day of the second Test against India at Kingsmead Thursday.

South Africa were 64 for no wicket in their second innings, an overall lead of 152, when bad light ended play for the day.

“We obviously wanted to push the game forward tonight,” said Arthur.

“We were frustrated too by the amount of stoppages throughout the day, with ball changes and doctors running on the field. There needs to be some proper control of that or it could spill over into something very frustrating for us.”

Makhaya Ntini struck twice before bad light again disrupted play on the fifth and final day of the second Test between South Africa and India at Kingsmead Saturday.

India, leading the three-match series 1-0, limped to 47 for four at lunch after Ntini dismissed both overnight batsmen, Sachin Tendulkar and Wasim Jaffer.

The start of play was delayed by 55 minutes and only 4.3 overs were bowled before the light worsened again and the players left the field. Ntini had figures of four for 15.

Makhaya Ntini bowled South Africa to victory in the second Test against India on Saturday. South Africa won by 174 runs to level the series at 1-1 with one match left to play.

Fast bowler Ntini took five for 48 to help dismiss India, who needed 354 to win, for 179 in the seventh over after tea on the fifth day. South Africa were dismissed for 328 in their first innings, to which India replied with 240. South Africa declared their second innings closed on 265 for eight.

Uncapped fast bowler Ishant Sharma will not join the Indian cricket squad for the third and final Test in South Africa, it was announced on Thursday.

Indian chief selector Dilip Vengsarkar, currently in South Africa, said in a statement that it had been decided not to summon the paceman for the final Test of the ongoing three-match series.

“Initially, he was being considered to be drafted into the Indian squad,” he said.

“However, considering his domestic schedule, it has now been decided not to have him fly down to Cape Town and instead allow him to concentrate on domestic first-class matches,” he added.