Former Indian batsman Aakash Chopra heaped high praise on Virat Kohli, saying the skipper made the speech by taking the patient side of his hitting on a tricky Newlands field on the first day of the 3rd.Kohli hit his second slowest test fifty before breaking Reached 79, helping India post 223 on the board in their first innings in the series finals.
Questions were asked about Virat Kohli’s temperament after chasing wide deliveries and getting off cheaply in both innings of the first Test. He missed the 2nd Test that India lost in Johannesburg due to a back cramp and the Indian captain, who had returned to lead India in the series, was under pressure.
SAT against IND, 3rd test day 1: report | Highlights
However, Kohli took the bold call at the litter and decided to strike on a cloudy morning in Cape Town. Even when the opening games KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal fell early, Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara held the position and withstood South Africa’s attack in the first session.
Kohli and Pujara added 62 runs for the 3rd wicket, with the latter being the dominant partner. Kohli took 158 balls for his fifty as he demonstrated incredible discipline, especially with deliveries rolled outside of his stump.
While Kohli was expected to avoid the drives after the initial test debacle, the Indian captain continued to score high on his favorite stroke, but as Chopra points out, his stroke selection was better.
“Absolutely critical for the context of this friendly and for Virat Kohli himself,” Chopra told Star Sports while speaking about the skipper’s 201-Ball 79.
“He sets some high standards for himself and he would know that he has not lived up to those standards for a while. If you get into the final test of the series after missing the 2nd test, you have the roll Now is the time to have the conversation.
“He was there and absorbed all the pressure. We have seen the dominant Virat Kohli many times. But now we have also seen Virat Kohli, the patient guy who takes all the pressure.
“He didn’t put the drive on hold. We saw him take drives to the limit, but it happened over 201 balls. He made the bowlers come over to him. It wasn’t just about taking a shot.” Getting rid of his armory. It was all about bringing the bowlers over to you rather than going fishing.
“That resilience is what you associate with a top-notch player like Virat Kohli,” he added.
Kohli missed his 71st international hundred by 21 runs as he kept running out of partners as he approached the milestone. India lost its last 6 wickets for only 56 runs as Kagiso Rabada and Marco Jansen shared 7 wickets.
Ajinkya Rahane dropped to 8, and received an almost unplayable delivery from Rabada, while the lower middle tier from R Ashwin and Shardul Thakur didn’t add much.
“BATTERS LET THE TEAM DOWN”
Stressing that India missed a chance to bet a more competitive sum on the board after winning the throw, Chopra said the striking unit continues to let the team down at critical moments.
“Well, if you’re a batter other than Kohli and Pujara, I think you would be disappointed. Your team won the toss, you chose to hit first and yet you couldn’t make it through 3 sessions.
“There is an advantage to winning the throw and hitting first. You can hit your opponent last. But you want them to hit last on a pitch on day 5, not good on day 3 or 4. India Batting makes an eyelash droop, “he added.
South Africa will be day 2 on January 17th. resume as India got the big wicket from Dean Elgar while Jaspritt Bumrah squared the hero of the Johannesburg Test for 3.
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