Virat Kohli highlights poor batting: The Indian captain didn’t mince his words for blaming the batting unit behind Test series loss.
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India Test captain Virat Kohli believes “lapse of concentration” held his team back in key moments in the recently concluded third match against South Africa in Cape Town.
Kohli, who lauded the opposition for “performing better” in back-to-back Test matches to win the series, talked about how India failed to carry forward the momentum especially after winning the first Test match in Centurion.
“I think it’s a great spectacle of Test cricket for all to see. We played well in the first game to win but South Africa bounced back well in the second and carried on the momentum in the third as well. There was some lapse of concentration from us as well in key moments. I thought South Africa performed better in those key moments and totally deserved the win,” Kohli told SuperSport during the post-match presentation ceremony.
Virat Kohli highlights poor batting as major reason behind Test series loss
Not shying away from blaming the batters for a series loss, Kohli admitted that they need to look at the batting department. Senior batters Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane, in particular, have been in the worst forms of their lives averaging less than 25 in their last 10 Test innings.
“It is definitely batting, no doubt about that. Their bowlers were just better in terms of their execution and applying pressure. Batting is certainly something to be looked at.
“No excuses there. It’s really disappointing for sure. We did well in Australia and England but that doesn’t guarantee us success in South Africa. The reality is that we haven’t won here in South Africa and we have to deal with it,” Kohli said.
Before concluding, Kohli picked out positives that India will take from this series. The skipper was wax lyrical about centurions Lokesh Rahul and Rishabh Pant as the two were the only batters to reach the three-figure mark in this series.
“KL’s [Rahul] batting as an opener [among positives]. Mayank [Agarwal] getting stuck in and then Rishabh’s [Pant] innings this game, these are some positives that we can take home. Also, obviously, our win at Centurion was special,” Kohli concluded.
