The off-spinner grabbed 4-58 as South Africa, who conceded a first innings lead of 106, were reduced to 172-5 by stumps on the fourth day.

The tourists, just 66 runs ahead with five wickets in hand, need a mammoth effort from the overnight pair of Jacques Kallis (52) and Zander de Bruyn (nine) to prevent India from winning the match and the short two-Test series.

The first Test ended in a draw in Kanpur last week.

Harbhajan, nicknamed the 'Turbanator', ripped through the top order after claiming the prize wickets of captain Graeme Smith and first Test centurion Andrew Hall with good turn and flight.

Having taken two wickets before tea, Harbhajan came back in the last session to remove Smith and debutant Hashim Amla.

Smith was out when Venkatsai Laxman, fielding at slip, took a high catch lunging full length to his left, while Amla's was a bat-pad dismissal with Laxman the fielder again.

Harbhajan had dismissed opener Hall when the batsman gloved the ball in trying to sweep and gave wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik an easy catch.

In his next over, Harbhajan trapped Jacques Rudolph leg-before with a ball that came in to the left-hander as South Africa slipped from 77 for no loss to 81-2.

Harbhajan was unlucky not to get another wicket before tea when umpire Daryl Harper ruled Kallis not out on a bad-pad catch appeal. Replays showed the ball had touched the batsman's bat.

Leg-spinner Anil Kumble, bowling round the wicket to take advantage of bowlers' footmarks, chipped in with the wicket of Boeta Dippenaar, caught by Virender Sehwag in the slips after the ball bounced off Karthik's pads.

It was Kumble's 432nd wicket and left him just two short of equalling Kapil Dev's Indian record of 434.

Earlier, India's lower-order batsmen frustrated South Africa by taking their first innings to 411 after resuming at 359-6.

The home side added 52 during the morning session although fast bowler Makhaya Ntini's two wickets ensured the score was not inflated further.

Ntini accounted for overnight batsman Irfan Pathan (24) and Kumble (eight), both of whom were caught in the slips. He finished as the most successful bowler for South Africa with 4-112.

Karthik (46) was trapped lbw by paceman Shaun Pollock while Harbhajan (14) was the last man out. He top-edged a reverse-sweep to Dippenaar at cover, giving leg-spinner Justin Ontong his maiden Test wicket in his second match.

Last-man Zaheer Khan remained not out on 11 off 32 deliveries.

Both teams and the umpires took the field wearing red ribbons on their shirts to mark World AIDS Day.