South Africa 431 (Elgar 160, de Kock 111, Ashwin 7-145) and 11 for 1 trail India 502 for 7d and 323 for 4d (Rohit 127, Pujara 81, Maharaj 2-129) by 384 runs

In his second innings as opener, Rohit Sharma scored a century even better than in the first to set up a declaration for India with a day and 13 possible overs to go. In the nine overs before bad light brought a premature end to play on the fourth day, Ravindra Jadeja removed the first-innings centurion Dean Elgar.

Rohit's was another six-filled innings but on a worn-out surface with the ball beginning to rag. A strike rate of 85.23 on day four was truly exceptional, and just what India needed after South Africa had kept them in the field for far longer than they would have liked to.

It is hard to believe, but for a session and a third, it all seemed to be going to plan for South Africa. Starting the day 117 behind, they had a sticky last-wicket stand of 35 and also kept India's scoring in check. It took India two hours and 27 minutes of play to get back to a lead of 117. Philander had bowled a spell of 4-3-2-0, Maharaj has taken a wicket, and Rabada kept asking questions. While Rohit had managed to hit three sixes, rotating the strike had been difficult and the scoring rate hovered around two.

It was an interesting time in India's innings. It might seem ridiculous after the later onslaught, but there was a brief period when India needed to make sure they didn't collapse and allowed South Africa hopes of winning the Test. Pujara was cautious to begin with; when he began to look for runs, he found that the pitch was not easy right now to manipulate gaps. He kept skipping down the pitch, but he kept finding fielders on the leg side. An outside edge off Piedt went down, but so big was the deflection that to call it a chance would be cruel on Quinton de Kock.

Two overs before a drinks break, gloves came out for Pujara. Rohit berated him for lack of urgency in running. You could feel there was pressure building on Pujara. He still kept finding the fielders. You wondered if he would finally try to loft the ball. He skipped down to Piedt again, was beaten in the air - a rare occurrence - and then managed to get a thin inside edge to beat de Kock and get four runs. After that, as if magically, the ball began to find gaps.

Pujara was 8 off 62 before this, and India 64 for 1 in the 28th over. The flood gates opened so dramatically that he had hit four fours in seven balls. All along the ground. In the extended middle session, he went past Rohit's score and also his boundary count. The only time he hit in the air, though, was when spinners bowled long hops, and he put them both several rows back in the stands.

Rohit's six-hitting at the other end was something else. Except for one, his 10th of the match that landed in long-on's hands but Senuram Muthusamy's foot just flicked the rope before he did the release-and-step-out trick, all of Rohit's sixes were regal languid hits. It was contagious with Jadeja hitting three in 32 balls, and Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane landing one each of their own. India hit 27 sixes in the match, five more than any team has ever hit in a Test; the overall tally of 34 sin the match was one short of the record.

Pujara once again got a beauty from Philander to be dismissed lbw by a straight ball that seamed away, but by then he and Rohit had put India on the path to domination again. The torment, though, was to continue. India promoted Jadeja possibly to get a right-left combination going, but he didn't have to worry about picking up the scoring rare because Rohit gave already high rate a boost by hitting Piedt for three consecutive sixes.

By the time Rohit missed once, South Africa had been beaten into submission and they chased after him to congratulate on his superb effort: more runs and more centuries in a match than anyone opening for the first time.

After some more fun - it was arguable India enjoyed themselves for a bit too long keeping in mind there could be some rain on the final day - Kohli asked South Africa to enter the cauldron again. India were not allowed to use fast bowlers because of the light, but it wasn't a blow to them. Spinners would have done the bulk of the bowling anyway. Before stumps, Jadeja trapped Elgar in front, but before that he had to convince his captain to go for a review.

Having worked hard with the bat on day three, having batted out 131.2 overs, South Africa's batsmen will be filthy with their spinners for having put them in such a situation yet again.

HOUSTON -- First basemen across the American League couldn't believe what they were hearing this summer as the Houston Astros cruised toward the MLB playoffs. Jose Altuve, one of the great hitters of his generation -- of any generation -- would rap a single and cruise around the bag. As the ball made its way back to the pitcher, Altuve would strike up a conversation that left myriad first basemen incredulous.

"It's really good to be here," he told one.

"I'm getting old, papi," he told another.

Altuve, 29, wasn't sandbagging. This is how he thinks. Perpetually pessimistic, professionally defeatist, Altuve believed -- truly, honestly, earnestly believed -- that even in the midst of another brilliant year, he was ever teetering, on the cusp of losing his swing.

He wasn't. Altuve is an expert Weeble: prone to a wobble, never falling down. He reinforced this reality Friday in Game 1 of the American League Division Series, hammering a two-run home run on a chest-high, 98 mph fastball from Tampa Bay Rays starter Tyler Glasnow and igniting the Astros' offense in a 6-2 victory in the best-of-five series.

Every player develops a process to cope with the vagaries of a game in which failure is omnipresent, circling like a vulture, though Altuve's verges on excessive. Years of excellence, of 200-hit seasons and batting titles and ownership of pitchers around the game, disappear as though the sum of his experience is a Thanos finger snap away from being replaced by doubt, worry, fear, a witch's brew of ruin.

"Especially this year," Altuve told ESPN following Game 1. "We all know how I started the season. Every time I got on base, I told the first baseman I'm really happy I'm here and that I got a hit."

The first basemen rolled their eyes, shook their heads and thought to themselves: If Jose Altuve thinks he's awful, I'd hate to know what he thinks of me. Of course, they're used to it. The first-base bag is baseball's psychologist's couch, a place where one's deepest and darkest feelings of self-doubt reveal themselves. Manny Ramirez, one of the most talented right-handed hitters ever, constantly unburdened himself there. Once, a longtime first baseman said, Ramirez arrived at the bag and let out a deep breath.

"I thought I lost my hands," Ramirez said.

Later in the game, he made his way to first again.

"I think I found 'em," Ramirez said.

Another single later, he was certain.

"I found 'em," Ramirez said. "They were in Australia."

Wherever Altuve thought he left his swing, he has found it at the right time. It's not that the Astros need him to be classic Jose Altuve to win, of course; their lineup is as deep as it is dangerous. Still, Glasnow had twirled four delightful innings, vacillating between his frightening fastball and hammer curve to great effect.

Altuve feebly flied out to right in his first at-bat and popped out to shortstop in his second. In the bottom of the fifth, with Astros starter Justin Verlander matching Glasnow zero for zero, Altuve fouled off a first-pitch fastball and took a second for a ball. Glasnow went back to the fastball a third time and executed the exact pitch he wanted: top of the strike zone, 98 with cut, the sort of pitch through which lesser hitters swing.

"But it's Jose Altuve," Rays manager Kevin Cash said.

It was, Altuve said, "the only good swing of the game I had." He picked the right time to unleash it and send the crowd of 43,360 at Minute Maid Park into a tizzy. The ball skied toward the Crawford Boxes in left field for his ninth career playoff home run and fifth in ALDS Game 1s, following three in 2017 and another last year. Whatever Altuve's doubts were midseason, he came into Game 1 feeling better about himself, telling shortstop Carlos Correa that he expected to homer Friday because he always does in the first game of the postseason.

This herculean version of Altuve isn't exactly shocking. Coming off right knee surgery in the offseason, Altuve struggled to find a rhythm through the season's first six weeks and hit the injured list because of a strained left hamstring. Lower-body weakness plagued him and sidelined Altuve for more than five weeks. Upon his return, he looked like classic Altuve, and after the All-Star break he morphed into something entirely different: a dangerous power hitter again, with 21 home runs in 68 games and a .622 slugging percentage.

"My confidence is back right now," he said. "I finished the second half strong. I played the way I play."

Which includes the requisite insecurity. In a lineup with MVP candidate Alex Bregman and arguably the best hitter in the AL this year, Yordan Alvarez, not to mention George Springer and Michael Brantley and Yuli Gurriel and Correa, it's easy to engage in a bit of comparative self-loathing.

"Every day," Astros outfielder Josh Reddick said. "He could be player of the week, 10 for his last 12, go 0-for-3 in a game, get an infield single in the eighth and look at me and go, 'Papi, I needed that.' No, you didn't. You didn't need that. I mean, we need every one of 'em, but you? You don't need that."

Both Altuve and the Astros needed it in Game 1. The home run chased Glasnow and gave Verlander, who threw seven one-hit innings, enough of a cushion until the rest of the lineup woke up. It served as a reminder, too, that for all of the depth in the Astros' lineup, Altuve -- who wound up hitting .298/.353/.550 with a career-best 31 home runs -- remains an integral cog in their offensive machine.

"It's hard for Jose Altuve to be underrated, given that he's got hardware," Astros manager AJ Hinch said. "He's got an MVP. He's got batting titles. He's got a ring. He's got Silver Sluggers for every family member. He's got a Gold Glove. He's done almost everything you can in the game. But he had an underrated year."

He'll take that. What makes these Astros so great, Altuve said, is that amid their individual brilliance, the focus is on the team making its 2017 championship the beginning of something dynastic and not just a one-off. Altuve will forever be at the apex of that season's highlight reel, scooping up a ground ball and firing to first for the final out of the World Series. It was poetic, the guy who weathered three 100-plus-loss seasons putting the bow on a rebuild gone so right.

Altuve is still here, still one of the Astros' key players, still their heartbeat. Someday, he's going to slow down. The hits will come less frequently. The triumphs will be fewer and farther between. For now, though, any talk of that isn't just premature but laughable. Sorry, pitchers: Jose Altuve has found his hands. They weren't in Australia, either. They were there the whole time.

HOUSTON -- Imagine it from Kevin Cash's perspective.

You spend the entirety of the Tampa Bay Rays' quick turnaround from Wednesday's wild-card win at the Oakland Athletics preparing for a 36-year-old ace who somehow seems to keep getting better. The Rays have beaten Justin Verlander before, but not on this stage -- his stage -- as one of the game's best playoff pitchers. The Houston Astros ace has seen it all and defeated it all.

Still, this is the Rays, the team that prepares for each game so assiduously that every micro-moment feels like an opportunity. Finding a flaw in Verlander's arsenal might be nigh impossible, but if there is a manager and a coaching staff and a cutting-edge organization to do it, it's Tampa Bay.

Then Friday's Game 1 of the American League Division Series begins. Verlander walks the Rays' lead-off hitter, missing with four of five four-steamers. And his velocity is average, so it's not like he is overthrowing. Maybe, just maybe, the Rays are getting Verlander on an off-day. Seven innings later, the sum total of Cash's offense: zero runs, one hit.

And then, on top of everything, during his postgame news conference Cash has it pointed out that he'll have to face Verlander again if the series goes long. The Rays manager is asked if there is anything at all he saw from his hitters that would be encouraging if that comes to pass.

"No," Cash says, snickering. "We got Verlander'd."

That kind of sums up Tampa Bay's predicament. To advance to the AL Championship Series, the Rays almost certainly have to beat a pitcher so dominant that his name has become a verb. Of course, that's just the tip of Cash's rapidly melting iceberg. Consider this set of stats:

Innings: 212 1/3
Record: 20-5
ERA: 2.50
Strikeouts: 326
bWAR: 6.9

Impressive, right? Those aren't Verlander's numbers, though they are a near facsimile of what he accomplished during the regular season. They belong to Houston's Game 2 starter, Gerrit Cole.

According to Statcast data, the hardest-hit ball off Verlander in Game 1 was 97.5 mph. There was only one instance during the regular season in which the Rays failed to hit at least one ball with triple-digit exit velocity against a starter who went at least five innings. That starter: Gerrit Cole, on Aug. 28.

"It's just a fabulous environment to be in," Cole said. "It's just been a blessing to come here and meet all these people and be able to learn from such masters of their craft. The talent in the room is second to none."

The Astros' offense is elite, perhaps the best in baseball. The defense is above average. They are athletic, too, taking advantage of the slow delivery of Rays starter Tyler Glasnow to swipe three bags in Game 1. The bullpen is deep, versatile and solid. But the rotation AJ Hinch is rolling out is what, more than anything, could mark the 2019 Astros as a historically special team.

On Thursday, Astros manager AJ Hinch was asked about his thoughts on Tampa Bay's pioneering use of the opener. If he needed to use it, he'd be all for it. But when your top three are Verlander, Cole and Zack Greinke, why even think about it?

"I didn't do this, but [what] I wanted to do in August was text [Cash] and say, I don't know if you're going with an opener, but I'm going with Verlander, Greinke and Cole," Hinch said. "And the same goes for this series.

"As long as I've got this type of top-end rotation, then I certainly firmly believe in the starting pitcher setting the tone and doing all the things that a normal, traditional starting pitcher would do."

Including Verlander's Game 1 gem, and since the Astros acquired Greinke from the Arizona Diamondbacks at the deadline, the trio of aces have been dazzling. Their combined record is 24-3, with a 2.19 ERA, 278 strikeouts over 209 2/3 innings and just 34 walks. Each one of their post-deadline pitching lines, extrapolated to a full season, would be Cy Young Award-worthy.

The proven ace is a dying breed. Postseason baseball is now supposed to be about getting your pitcher through the order a couple of times, if that, then turning the game over to a parade of hand-picked reliever-hitter matchups. And as even the Astros have done, sometimes that parade includes heretofore aces, such as Verlander, Chris Sale and Clayton Kershaw, who have all had crucial relief outings in recent years.

But this current Houston model is straight out of the 1970s -- to an extent. Hinch isn't likely to ride his aces past the point of fatigue -- he has that solid bullpen, after all -- but the intent remains to get those three pitchers deep. If that happens two more times against the Rays, Hinch might be able to postpone his decision on a fourth starter. The two candidates for the job -- lefty Wade Miley and righty Jose Urquidy -- began the series in the bullpen, with Hinch saying the choice would come down to how the series unfolds. For that to matter, the Rays are going to have to beat a Cy Young-caliber starter.

"I think it's not just the pitchers," Cole said. "I think we have one of the best managers in the game. I think we have some of the best hitting coaches in the game. We have some of the best position players. I think the common theme between everybody is communication and the willingness to just get better, however small the detail is."

Verlander has lauded his conversations with Cole, and both have spoken about the thrill of picking Greinke's brain over the past couple of months. It's like a think tank of scientists featuring Einstein, Tesla and Newton, all after they'd already reached respective immortality.

Before the opener, we featured a metrics-based story arguing that the Astros might have the best postseason roster ever assembled. The key metric there was "Active WAR" -- a version of WAR that combines five years' worth of track record and the most recent season.

If you zero in on the Big Three of the Astros, it's no surprise they rank high among postseason ace trios, through the modern era, by combined Active WAR:

TOP ACE TRIOS SINCE 1901

1. 2002 Arizona Diamondbacks (Act. WAR: 19.20)
-- Randy Johnson, Curt Schilling, Byung-Hyun Kim

2. 1996 Atlanta Braves (Act. WAR: 18.80)
-- Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, John Smoltz

3. 2011 Philadelphia Phillies (Act. WAR: 18.60)
-- Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Cole Hamels

4. 1997 Atlanta Braves (Act. WAR: 18.01)
-- Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, John Smoltz

5. 1931 Philadelphia Athletics (Act. WAR: 17.76)
-- Lefty Grove, George Earnshaw, Rube Walberg

6. 1913 New York Giants (Act. WAR: 17.45)
-- Christy Mathewson, Jeff Tesreau, Rube Marquard

7. 1912 New York Giants (Act. WAR: 17.33)
-- Christy Mathewson, Jeff Tesreau, Rube Marquard

8. 1973 New York Mets (Act. WAR: 17.26)
-- Tom Seaver, Jerry Koosman, Jon Matlack

9. 2019 Houston Astros (Act. WAR: 17.20)
-- Justin Verlander, Gerrit Cole, Zack Greinke

10. 1998 Atlanta Braves (Act. WAR: 17.16)
-- Greg Maddux Tom Glavine, John Smoltz

That's some pretty heady company for the Astros to be keeping, but they might not want to keep it. That's because one thing the other members of the top 10 have in common: None of them won the World Series during the season listed above.

That's why when confronted with questions about their elite rotation, the Astros tend to steer things back to the overall team context. They know what history tells us: A power trio of starting pitchers doesn't guarantee a title. It'll take contributions from everybody.

Still, those contributions look a whole lot better when they are piggybacked onto a seven-inning, zero-run, one-hit start like the one Houston got Friday from Verlander. It's the type of dominant performance that Cole has delivered time and again all season, and the type of high-skilled excellence Greinke has delivered since the middle of the 2000s. The Rays just got Verlander'd. Now they have to keep from being Cole'd and then Greinke'd.

Still, it's a nice thing to have your name verbalized, right?

"I don't know," Verlander demurred. "I mean, I guess it's a pretty great compliment. I don't know what else to say, other than that."

Jacob Stockdale says that Ireland have to enjoy their rugby if they are to rediscover their impressive 2018 form.

Ireland laboured to a win over Russia as they recovered from a shock defeat to host nation Japan in Pool A.

Stockdale has praised head coach Joe Schmidt, saying he strikes a balance.

"It's amazing how much pressure one man can put on one team. When we are training Joe likes to push the intensity and really build it," said the Ulster winger.

"That's class for us as players because you're getting that intensity in training that's nearly like a match week.

"It's brilliant that he does that and then whenever you are off he is a bit more relaxed, and you get to chill out a bit, so I think it is a really good balance in that sense."

Losing doesn't get any easier

"There's a lot more than doing your analysis to beat a team," admitted Stockdale on Ireland's patchy World Cup form.

"They (Japan) played very well and we didn't match that level but that's the nature of rugby.

"I've experienced a few losses in an Ireland shirt now and they don't get any easier.

"It was incredibly disappointing, you don't really expect to be feeling that way after your second Rugby World Cup game.

"The next day you feel sorry for yourself and you lick your wounds, but then after that you start training again so you can't be lying about and moping.

"You just have to get on with it, it was a tough couple of days but I always find it is easier once training starts again because it gives you something to focus on.

"You can motivate yourself and just put the rest of it behind you."

Stockdale has credited Keith Earls for his positive attitude, who himself changed his approach from the previous World Cup in England.

"He was saying how much pressure they felt they were under before the 2015 World Cup and this time around he says he isn't letting the pressure get to him," Stockdale said on his fellow winger.

"He was just going out to enjoy the rugby and that's what I took from that.

"You can get wound up by not playing the perfect game every week and that pressure can build up to the point where it takes control of you.

"Or else you go out, enjoy your rugby and be confident in your ability .

"That's a much better way to do it than the other way round."

Samoa 'like a Six Nations game'

Chris Farrell, who missed the Russia victory through concussion, says that Ireland's final Pool A match will feel more like a Test match.

"After the Japan game we said we were lucky to have a five-day turnaround," said the Munster centre, "We wanted to get back out and put things right.

"There was always going to be some uneasy energy around the team for a day or two after the Japan game because the boys were a little bit down from it.

"Next week will be nice because we will have a full game prep.

"It will feel more like a Six Nations or November series test match because we have a full week leading up to it.

"I would have loved to have been out there (For the Russia game) but in the warm-ups we were looking around and giving the ball back to the kickers, and I could see that there were so many Irish fans in the stadium.

"There were so many Irish around and I'm sure the Samoa game will be no different.

"It will be incredible to play in that."

WATSONVILLE, Calif. – Justin Sanders won the 30 lap season finale for the Taco Bravo Sprint Car Series Friday at Ocean Speedway while J.J. Ringo was crowned the series champion.

Sanders, in his yellow No. 17 North County Plastering/Andy’s Construction-sponsored car, led the entire distance after starting on the pole, beating out Brad Furr and Colby Copeland. Ringo and Joey Ancona rounded out the top-five.

Ringo and Bud Kaeding entered the season’s final race tied in the track’s 360 series points battle.  Ringo, who started eighth, and Kaeding, a 10th place starter, spent most of the feature at each other’s heels.  It would be Kaeding who would pass Ringo on the 26th circuit, giving him the advantage.

A lap later Kaeding, while lapping the slower car of Richard Fajardo, would run over his left rear tire coming out of the second turn, sending his black No. 69 sprint car into a series of flips, bringing out the red flag.  Ringo would slip to the outside of Fajardo, avoiding the accident and safeguarding a good enough finish to claim the title.

Kaeding’s damaged car would be towed to the work area where enough repairs were made to allow him to rejoin the contest.  His beat up car was no longer competitive, and he would limp around to a disappointing 13th-place finish.

A jubilant Ringo did victory donuts in the fourth turn, stalling the car.  He would be pushed to the front stretch where his crew greeted him with a champagne bath even before he could exit the car.

Once out, Ringo mounted the top wing, where he did a series of fists pumps and then ran across the track to the crossover gate, where he entered the grandstands and he continued to celebrate with the fans all while still wearing his race helmet.

The finish:

Justin Sanders, Brad Furr, Colby Copeland, J.J. Ringo, Joey Ancona, John Clark, Koen Shaw, Trent Canales, Jeremy Chisum, Tristan Guardino, Jake Andreotti, Jake Hagopian, Bud Kaeding, Keith Day Jr., Evan Bonnema, Richard Fajardo, Ricky Brophy, William, Camara, Jason Chisum, Bud Foland.

TUSCUMBIA, Ala. – Jake Knowles drove the Knowles Race Parts and Bodies Longhorn to his fifth Durrence Layne Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series win of the season on Friday night at North Alabama Speedway.

Knowles took the lead on lap 24 and then held off a late-race challenge from Wil Herrington to score the $2,000 victory in the 40-lap event.

“This race track was race friendly tonight, just like it is every time we come here,” Knowles said. “I could run just about anywhere I wanted to, and I think we learned some things tonight that will help us tomorrow night. We’re got a good string of wins and a second-place thrown in there at this track, which is one of my favorite places to race.”

Herington came from the tenth starting spot to finish second in the Middle Georgia Roofing CVR. Christian Hanger raced in the top five all race long, and took third by a bumper in the Hanger Racing CVR.

Josh Putnam put on a show at North Alabama Speedway with a fourth-place finish in the Putnam Racing Special after starting outside the top-10. Polesitter Tyler Wood led the first 23 laps of the race and ended up fifth.

The finish:

Jake Knowles, Wil Herrington, Christian Hanger, Josh Putnam, Tyler Wood, Cruz Skinner, Seth McCormack, Grant Garrison, Mitchell Holloway, Matt Cooper, Jordan Hedger, Oakley Johns, Ben Brocato, Jake Rainey, Mike Henn, Donald Johns, Marcus Minga, T.J. Brittain, Brock Hall, Steve Russell, Grayson Brewer, Riley Hickman, Justin Maxwell, Evan Ellis.

BURIRAM, Thailand — Fabio Quartararo got the best of Maverick Vinales and Marc Marquez to win the pole for the PTT Thailand Grand Prix MotoGP.

Quartararo rode his Petronas Yamaha SRT to the best lap of the session at one minute and 29.719 seconds to edge Monster Energy Yamaha rider Vinales by .106 seconds.

MotoGP point leader Marquez was third quick, .212 seconds behind Quartararo on his Respol Honda machine.

Quartararo’s teammate, Franco Morbidelli, was fourth, with Ducati rider Danillo Petrucci rounding out the top five.