“It is definitely batting”: Virat Kohli highlights poor batting as major reason behind Test series loss in South Africa

Virat Kohli highlights poor batting: The Indian captain didn’t mince his words for blaming the batting unit behind Test series loss.

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.

Well played @OfficialCSA , what a phenomal series it has been.. Best wishes to Indian team for the ODI series ahead #INDvSA 🇮🇳

— Suresh Raina🇮🇳 (@ImRaina) January 14, 2022

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.

About the author

Dixit Bhargav

Born and brought up in Pathankot, Dixit Bhargav is an engineering and sports management graduate who works as a Cricket Editor at The SportsRush. Having written more than 10,000 articles across more than five years at TSR, his first cricketing memory dates back to 2002 when former India captain Sourav Ganguly had waved his jersey at the historic Lord’s balcony. What followed for an 8-year-old was an instant adulation for both Ganguly and the sport. The optimist in him is waiting for the day when Punjab Kings will win their maiden Indian Premier League title. When not watching cricket, he is mostly found in a cinema hall watching a Punjabi movie.

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