Immovable Kohli refuses to buckle under SA pressure
BEFORE this second Test, Virat Kohli was asked about what it meant to play with intent.
“Intent doesn’t mean you have to go out there and start playing shots from ball one,” said the Indian captain.
“Intent is there in a leave, intent is there in defending the ball as well, intent is there in being vocal when you call out there in the middle. All those things count as intent.”
Kohli showed intent from ball one yesterday. A back-foot defence stroke to the first ball he faced from Kagiso Rabada was middled. His second ball was a forward defence, again middled, this time straight to mid-off. His first boundary came off the fourth ball of his innings, it looked no more than a defensive push, but the ball raced to the cover boundary. His fifth ball brought another boundary, this time via an on-drive. There was intent in the manner in which the Indian captain started his innings. It stayed that way for all of the 226 minutes he was at the crease.
By the time he’d reached 45, Kohli had faced 58 balls and struck seven fours. He’d finish the day unbeaten on 85, hitting just one more boundary – having faced a further 72 balls. But don’t mistake the latter part of his innings for a lack of intent.
The circumstances of the match had changed. South Africa had blasted through the fragile Indian middle-order and all that was keeping them at bay was Kohli and his intensity.
He left and continued to defend with terrific intensity and all the while cajoled his fellow batsmen in support of him. But they had neither the patience nor the skill to get on top of this South African attack, who on a flat surface kept probing.
The morning had brought an extra 66 runs for the South Africans, meaning they matched what is the average first innings score in a Test match here. But from 246/3 where they were with 41 minutes to play on Saturday, to 335 all out, represented something of a failure.
As it stands, the Proteas are ahead, but they will need to get Kohli and Kohli doesn’t look like he’ll get out.
South Africa’s quicks, along with spinner Keshav Maharaj, were made to strain every sinew to make something happen from the surface. They were grateful for KL Rahul and Cheteshwar Pujara’s two errors, which gifted them the first two wickets. But then Kohli and Murali Vijay gained control for two hours putting the home team under pressure.
After tea they sought to attack Maharaj, but the left-armer won a short battle with Vijay, dismissing him as he went to cut.
With one end opened up and the vulnerable Rohit Sharma at the crease, South Africa attacked. A brisk spell from Rabada accounted for Sharma and then debutant Lungi Ngidi’s big moment arrived, when he had Parthiv Patel caught behind.
Earlier Ngidi nearly had the prized wicket of Kohli, but on review from the South Africans, umpire Paul Reiffel’s ‘not out’ decision stood, with the Indian captain getting just a thin inside edge. VIRAT: The Indian captain was going to make an impact at some point. It came on the second day here, and it made for captivating viewing. Kohli demonstrated tremendous control and imposed himself on this match in a much bigger way than any animated celebrations could. It was an exhibition of batting of the highest order. IN-SWING: Perhaps Faf du Plessis was going too hard at the ball, but with SA’s No 10 at the crease, he felt it was needed. Nevertheless Ishant Sharma produced a prodigious in-swinger to knock over middle stump. Sharma was outstanding and his inclusion was certainly justified even as the decision to pick him in place of Bhuvneshwar Kumar still seems wrong. NGIDI: He has a Test run. And although it doesn’t count on the stats sheet - a run-out. He has a Test wicket too. But for an inside edge he could also have gotten the Indian captain lbw. Suffice to say, January 14, 2018 is a day Lungi Ngidi won’t soon forget. This may be only his 10th first-class game, but he looks like he belongs at this level. QUOTE: “It was one of the greatest frustrations I’ve had in my career, going from such a high to such a low in such a short space of time. Being selected to play SA A (after that) and then getting injured again, it was tough for me because I thought I was doing all the right things and the results just weren’t going my way. I had a lot of time to reflect, get to know myself as a person and I got through it. I’m a lot stronger than I thought I was.” Lungi Ngidi gives some insight into his mental state after getting his international debut last year, getting injured shortly afterwards and having to come back in order to play his first Test. PANDYA IN A STROP: Perhaps taking the lead from his emotive captain, Hardik Pandya appears to play with his heart on his sleeve. It is all or nothing for the young all-rounder, who with his run out of Amla on Saturday turned this game. But when things don’t go his way, well he can seem juvenile. Twice in South Africa’s innings he was hopping in frustration; first when Shami mis-fielded one off Markram that went for four, and then yesterday when he dropped a sitter offered by Rabada. SPIN: There have been 54.5 overs of spin in this match out of 174.5 Ravi Ashwin bowled 38.5 overs in the SA innings and yesterday, Kesh Maharaj 16. Five wickets have fallen to spin. That’s not supposed to happen on a day two pitch at SuperSport Park. There’ll be an ‘inquiry’ of some kind as to why. -