The memories of Virat Kohli dominating South African pacers in 2018 still remain fresh. After a rare failure in the first Test, Kohli went on to score a sensational 153 in Centurion and followed it up with match-winning contributions in Johannesburg in one of the most hard-fought Test series between the two sides. He then had a Bradman-esque ODI series, scoring over 500 runs, including 3 hundreds as India went on to script history, winning their first-ever series in the 50-over format in the Rainbow Nation.
South Africa has been one of Virat Kohli’s favourite hunting grounds over the years. 719 Test runs at an average of 51.35 and 898 runs in ODIs at an average of 74.83 are jaw-dropping numbers for a touring batter in South Africa.
However, the 2021-22 series was a rare blip in Virat Kohli’s love story with South Africa. Kohli was going through one of his leanest patches in international cricket and he had headed to South Africa on a turbulent note.
THE FIERY PRESSER
Not many can forget the pre-departure press conference that Virat Kohli addressed. Before the tour of South Africa, Kohli was sacked as ODI captain. The news of such a magnitude came as a footnote in one of the Indian cricket board’s press releases where the squad for the Test and ODI series was announced.
Kohli, in an unprecedented address to the media, accused the BCCI of a lack of communication and answered some pressing questions, including the turn of events in the lead-up to his sacking of ODI captain. Kohli said he was only informed by former BCCI chief selector, Chetan Sharma that he was removed as ODI captain 90 minutes before the announcement was made official. Kohli even contradicted ex-BCCI president Sourav Ganguly’s claim that the former skipper had spoken to him personally and urged him to not leave T20I captaincy.
Kohli’s comments created a stir in the Indian cricket fraternity and the focus was more on the ‘outside noise’ rather than the Test series. In fact, speculation was rife that Kohli had told the selectors that he would not play the ODI series on the tour of South Africa in 2021-22, but he rubbished them, saying “lies” were being spread about him.
TOUGH DEFEATS IN SOUTH AFRICA
Kohli was under pressure to let his bat do the talking. He was India’s main man in the absence of Rohit Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja, who were injured. It was also Rahul Dravid’s first major overseas assignment as the head coach of the Indian cricket team.
Kohli walked the talk in South Africa, leading India to a sensational win in Centurion. Despite Kohli managing only 53 runs across two innings, India rode on a KL Rahul hundred to go 1-0 up in the series. However, trouble followed soon. The India captain missed the second Test due to an injury and India lost that one in Johannesburg under stand-in captain KL Rahul. Kohli returned for the 3rd Test, but India went on to lose the decider in Cape Town by 7 wickets.
Kohli managed just 161 runs across 4 innings in the Test series. His frustration was evident when he lost his cool and came up with an angry stump-mic rant in the final Test over a contentious LBW call.
Kohli managed just 116 runs in the ODI series that followed. India lost the series 3-0 under KL Rahul’s captaincy.
At the end of the tour, Kohli dropped a bombshell. One of India’s most successful Test captains stepped down from the role after a splendid phase of 18 months as skipper.
2 YEARS LATER…
2 years have passed since that turbulent tour of South Africa. Virat Kohli is in a much better mental space and has regained his form, across all formats of the game. Kohli has wonderfully transitioned from a leader to a senior member of the team.
The India star was in sensational form in the ODI World Cup. Kohli scored 765 runs in 11 matches, including 3 centuries and 6 fffies and averaged close to 95. Kohli broke Sachin Tendulkar’s record for most runs in singe World Cup edition and went past his idol’s ODI world record tally of 49 hundreds.
Kohli has averaged 55 in Tests in 2023, scoring 557 runs, including two hundreds, in 7 matches. He hit a daddy hundred against Australia at home and 121 in a Test in the West Indies.
Yes, Kohli was distraught after India lost the World Cup final in Ahmedabad, but after an extended break, the star batter looked in good spirits in the nets in Centurion ahead of the Boxing Day Test. Kohli was seen focused and sharp at the nets on Sunday and was even spending a lot of time with youngsters, especially fast bowler Prasidh Krishna at the SuperSport Park.
With a clutter-free mind, Kohli will be keen on becoming the main man again in what will be a crucial series in India’s World Test Championship cycle.
Can Virat Kohli dominate South African bowlers like he did in2018? All signs point toward a big yes.