Poulter, who finished up his second round in the morning with a 7-under-par 64 to take a five-stroke lead, faltered in the afternoon at 4 over through six holes.

Andrew Dodt and Liang Wen-Chong were tied a shot off the lead while three others were tied two shots back. Ernie Els (FSY) joined three other players at 5 under.

"There are so many guys close the top of the leaderboard, within a few shots, so this tournament is nowhere near finished," Levet said. "I'm looking forward to tomorrow because I love the battle."

The second round was completed on Saturday because of rain delays the previous two days. The third round is scheduled to finish Sunday morning.

Phil Mickelson (FSY) was 2 under after completing 15 holes of the third round while Padraig Harrington (FSY) was 2 over after eight holes.

Enlarge By Vivek Prakash, Reuters Ian Poulter gets a read on the fifth green during Saturday's third round at the Serapong golf course.