Ashwin bowls India to series win

South Africa's nine-year unbeaten run in away Test series has come to an abrupt halt, with India winning the third Test in Nagpur on Friday by 124 runs to take a decisive 2-0 lead in the four-match series.

The Proteas, who resumed at 2-32 on day three chasing an unlikely target of 310, folded for 185 after tea on a dusty, deteriorating pitch at the VCA stadium

Offspinner Ravichandran Ashwin claimed 7-66 to go with his five wickets in the first innings, while legspinner Amit Mishra claimed the other three second-innings wickets.

Ashwin finished with match figures of 12-98.

South African skipper Hashim Amla and Faf du Plessis each scored 39. The only other contribution of note on day three came from JP Duminy, who made 19.

South Africa were never in the match, having been humbled for 79 in their first innings on the second day, where 20 wickets fell.

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India have won eight of their past nine Tests on home soil – all inside three days – having routed Australia 4-0 and the West Indies 2-0 in 2013 before taking the first and third Tests in the current series.

The winning sequence was broken by the rain-hit second Test against South Africa in Bangalore, where the last four days were washed out.

The defeat was top-ranked South Africa's first series loss abroad since a 2-0 setback in Sri Lanka in 2006.

In this series, India won the first Test in Mohali by 108 runs before the rain-hit Bangalore Test.

The fourth and final Test will be played from December 3 at New Delhi's Ferozeshah Kotla stadium.