Sussex have given themselves a chance of toppling Championship leaders Kent after 20 wickets fell on a dramatic third day at Canterbury yesterday.

The contest seemed to have swung decisively Kent's way during the afternoon when Sussex lost their last eight second-innings wickets for 68 and were dismissed for 155, one fewer than they made when they were beaten by Nottinghamshire in April and their lowest total of the season.

That left the leaders with four sessions to make 186 and they will resume still requiring another 89 with four wickets remaining.

Sussex deserve every credit for hauling themselves back into contention, or more specifically their bowlers do.

James Kirtley removed David Fulton and Martin van Jaarsveld in an outstanding new ball spell of 10-3-20-2 but Kent were taking control when Rob Key and Matty Walker put on 52 for the third wicket.

But in the final hour Sussex's Pakistani pair pulled it back. First Walker and Darren Stevens departed to successive deliveries from Mushtaq Ahmed. Walker pulled a full toss straight to mid-wicket and Stevens was suckered by a combination of Mushtaq's flight and Tim Ambrose's lightning-fast reactions.

Key then squandered nearly two hours of vigilence when an ambitious pull turned into a simple return catch for Rana Naved.

Six overs before the close Naved removed Kent's last recognised batsman when Andrew Hall was caught behind off the splice. Kent resume today on 97-6 and the morning session could turn out to be pivotal in Sussex's season.

Victory will keep Sussex on the coat-tails of the other six counties who have left bottom two Glamorgan and Gloucestershire a long way behind. On the other hand, they will find themselves 18 points adrift of Middlesex in the third relegation place if things do not go their way and, although they have a game in hand on some of their rivals, it will not count for much, especially if they continue to bat as poorly as they did yesterday.

Credit to Min Patel and Amjad Khan, who took seven wickets between them, but Sussex folded alarmingly easily after top scorer Mike Yardy and Murray Goodwin had put on 53 for the third wicket.

There has been a fragility to their batting all season and Ambrose and Robin Martin-Jenkins must be wondering whether they will be in the team which faces Hampshire at the Rose Bowl a week today after both failed again yesterday.

They were not alone yet Sussex appeared to be in a position to dictate the outcome after they took Kent's last four first-innings wickets for 25 in 8.1 overs to earn themselves a lead of 30 with Mushtaq and Naved sharing the spoils.

But Martin Saggers set the tone for an excellent Kent bowling performance by conceding just 16 in his eight-over new ball spell and picking up first innings centurion Ian Ward.

Richard Montgomerie was beaten by a ball slanted into his defences but Goodwin and Yardy appeared to have ridden out the storm, although Yardy was dropped at slip on 20.

However, van Jaarsveld took an outstanding low catch at second slip to give Khan his first success and in the next over Patel produced the classic slow left-armer's delivery to remove Goodwin, who edged a ball slanted across him to slip.

Chris Adams belted three boundaries in a Hall over but it was a rare show of defiance and no one looked like keeping him company for long enough at the other end.

Ambrose and Martin-Jenkins both looked desperately short of confidence although Ambrose may have been unlucky after appearing to get some bat before Hall's nip-backer thudded into his pads. Martin-Jenkins, only half-forward, edged Patel tamely to the wicketkeeper.

Patel produced the ball of the match which spun sharply out of the rough to flatten Adams' off stump and Khan mopped up the tail in the space of nine balls. But the excitement was only just starting.

Twenty wickets in a day suggests the pitch has become a minefield but this was a day of outstanding bowling and some pretty ordinary batting. Sussex need the trend to continue today.