Virat Kohli missed the Johannesburg Test against South Africa due to back spasms but coach Rahul Dravid is optimistic of the Indian cricket team skipper coming back from the Cape Town Test.
Follow Us
The Indian cricket team suffered a big setback in the Johannesburg Test even before the start of the match. They lost skipper Virat Kohli due to back spasms. This robbed Kohli the chance to play his 100th Test in the series. India put up a decent show in the Johannesburg Test but they lost by seven wickets. Dean Elgar was the star with 96* and superb bowling from Kagiso Rabada and Marco Jansen helped South Africa beat India for the first time in Johannesburg.
Now, there are questions on Virat Kohli’s availability for the Cape Town Test. With the series level 1-1 heading into the Newlands Test in a week’s time, many Indian cricket fans are praying for Virat Kohli to make a full recovery. Speaking in the post-match press conference, India head coach Rahul Dravid gave this massive update on the availability of Kohli for the Cape Town Test.
“Virat Kohli should be fine from all accounts, he should be fine. He has had the opportunity to run around a little bit, he has had the opportunity to test it a little bit. “Hopefully with a couple of net sessions in Cape Town, he should be good to go. Everything I am hearing and just having a chat with him, he should be good to go in four days’ time,” Dravid said.
Read – Virat Kohli’s team creates history with win in Centurion Test
India suffered a defeat for the first time in Johannesburg ever since they started touring South Africa in 1992. They have never won a Test in Newlands before and they will be determined to break that jinx. Indian cricket team skipper KL Rahul stated India was at least 50-60 runs short of the target they wanted to set for South Africa.
“We were looking to get on the field today, try and do something special, 122 to get, the pitch was playing up and down, we had a good chance, but their batters played really well. If I want to be harsh, the first innings total of 202 was at least 50-60 runs short, we should have scored more and put them under pressure,” Rahul said.
Rahul also praised the brilliant effort put by Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara in the second innings. Rahane and Pujara were under immense pressure for their string of low scores. But, both players silenced their critics with aggressive fifties. “We believe Pujara and Rahane are our best middle-order players, to go out there, bat in that mindset and play such an innings. It’ll give them confidence and make them do even better in the next Test,” Rahul said.
