In December 2014, Virat Kohli first led India in Test cricket as interim skipper while M S Dhoni missed the Adelaide Test due to injury. Gambhir in a post said that rather than going over the top critical towards the team we should rather appreciate the opposition for having played better.
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“The “Fab Four” they are at the moment”. In India, because the edges come a lot slowly, you have time to move.
“We are not complaining about pitches, we are not complaining about conditions”, Kohli said.
South Africa’s Lungi Ngidi has made an impressive entry in the bowler rankings after debuting in 61st position. But to blow away a chance to win a Test on a surface like the one at Centurion smirks of lack of application.
The Proteas have already clinched the three-match series after victories at Newlands and Centurion with the final Test starting in Johannesburg on 24 January. The pace and R Ashwin’s off-spin combined, India have managed to scalp a South African wicket every 25.22 runs which is a massive improvement over their previous best of 29.03 in 2006-07. “When I was part of the Indian (Test) team I have seen the ups and downs”.
We have to believe that we are the best side, Kohli told media in Pretoria. If you can’t take 20 wickets, you can never win a Test, irrespective of whether you are playing at home or away. The Indian team has steadfastly refused to blame the pitches in the Test series loss and that is winning them plaudits.
“I favour being ruthless”, he said. Though they were also beaten 0-1 on their last tour, their showing in the three series gave them the confidence of doing well this time round. “For me it’s about putting your foot on the gas”.
Apart from these two, Indian batsmen have found it hard to cope with the swing and bounce in pitches away from the subcontinent.
“We don’t want something ridiculous but we want pitches with pace and bounce”.
“The young pacer though feels that the Indian attack has given a good account in the two Tests”.
Speaking to ESPNCricinfo after the series defeat, former South Africa cricketer Daryll Cullinan slammed India’s perception that they were “well-prepared” for this series. We know how the conditions behave here.
Ideally, the No 6 should be a stroke maker who has the ability to bat with the lower middle order and even the tail.
The new ball had shown a definite tendency to keep low at the start of South Africa’s second innings on day three, and Jasprit Bumrah had removed Aiden Markram and Hashim Amla with shooters pitching short of a good length.
It was a revenge of sorts for Faf du Plessis’ men, who had been blanked 3-0 by hosts India in 2015.
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In the context of such a big series, even the smallest information or insight helps but India have been largely on their own in this tour. “The guys were extremely motivated to put that right”.
