Virat Kohli, India’s one-day skipper, is hoping to bounce back by guiding his side to a historic victory in South Africa in a three-match Test series that begins on Sunday at SuperSport Park in Centurion. India’s lone regular Test-playing nation where they have yet to win a series in South Africa. At India’s pre-match press conference on Friday, vice-captain KL Rahul said, “We have worked incredibly hard to win series away from India.” “We’ve won series in England and Australia, so we’re feeling very well. We haven’t won a series in South Africa, which adds to our desire to perform at a high level.” Dean Elgar, the South African captain, believes the teams are evenly matched.
We’ve time to decide, SA tour is on as of now: Sourav Ganguly
“India is number one in the world for a reason, but we have an edge since we are playing in our own backyard.” Despite losing in the world Test championship final to New Zealand last year, India is the top-ranked Test team, five places ahead of South Africa, who has recently lost several key players to retirement.
Kohli is in charge of a team with a lot of expertise. It also has the fast-bowling firepower to compete with South Africa in conditions that favor speed. Ten of India’s 18-man team have already visited South Africa. Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ishant Sharma, Ravichandran Ashwin, Umesh Yadav, and reserve wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha are visiting India for the fourth time. “We know what to expect and have prepared well,” Rahul added. “Because the pace and bounce are so different from other countries, it was critical that we arrived early and prepared in the middle.” India’s recent practice of selecting five bowlers is likely to be maintained, according to Rahul, which will lead to a “very difficult discussion” over selecting five specialist batters.
