GET APP
India's players celebrate after wining the fourth day of the third cricket Test match between South Africa and India at the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg. (AP)
Talking of wins on foreign soil, the top-3 that come to the mind immediately are — the second Test against England at Lord’s in 2014, first Test against South Africa at this very Bull Ring in 2006, and the one at Adelaide in the second Test against Australia in 2003.
Two things are of vital importance in these three wins. Firstly, none of these games had seen the Indian team completely dominating proceedings. In the Lord’s Test, it was the spell by Ishant Sharma (7/74) in the England second innings that saw MS Dhoni’s boys win. In the Johannesburg Test in 2006, it was the famous spell from S Sreesanth (5/40) that scuttled out the Proteas for 84 and set the path for an Indian win under Rahul Dravid. And in 2003, it was Ajit Agarkar’s spell of 6/41 that saw Sourav Ganguly’s boys register a historic win over Australia.
Secondly, in none of these games, India had the pressure of being down and out in the series. In England, the first game had been drawn before the boys won the second Test. In South Africa it was the first game of the series, and against Australia too, the first game had been drawn in Brisbane with skipper Ganguly hitting a magnificent century to set the tone for the remainder of the series.
But at the Wanderers on Saturday, this team under Kohli came back after losing the first two games of the series in Cape Town and Centurion, to register a comprehensive win at the Bull Ring. More importantly, this came after an indirect dig was taken at the boys by South African skipper Faf du Plessis when he said post the win in Centurion that it was very satisfying to win on an ‘Indian style’ track at the SuperSport Park. If the Proteas won on an Indian type of wicket, Kohli’s boys couldn’t have found a more disconcerting wicket than the one produced for the third Test in this series.
In fact, the move to have a wicket with pace and bounce backfired so badly that the home team was almost on the verge of pleading with the concerned officials to stop the game, sighting safety of the players. But not for once did Kohli or any of his boys raised any concern on the state of the wicket, despite the Indian players taking body blows themselves.
“We never complained about the tracks we played on. When we saw the pitch, we knew it’s going to be an equal chance for both sides. We decided to take the challenge head on, so it feels really, really satisfying to have won on a pitch that was supposed to have pace and bounce and it did and it played to our advantage,” Kohli said.
In fact, Kohli went on to add that it is the belief that this team has, that sets it apart from others, especially since it does not bother about what is being said or written about the boys. “Probably, what (games) I have been involved in, Lord’s was very special because we were playing on a similar sort of pitch; not as fast as this, but it was very challenging and we had won their because of our batting efforts and the bowlers coming together well.
“So, we had to show character in this game, and step up not for anyone else but for the belief of the team. When no one is believing in you, no one’s backing you, it’s very important to back yourselves as individuals. We knew that if we play well together as a team, we can win here, and we felt we were close in the first two games also but didn’t close off well,” he reiterated.
Talking about the brave decision Kohli took in batting first after winning the toss in overcast conditions, Kohli said: “As I mentioned in the last press conference as well, we don’t think like people on the outside. When things don’t go well, we as a team don’t say ‘oh we should have done this’ or ‘we should have done that’. That’s the easiest thing to do.
“I can say or write anything about anyone but when you’re in there, facing their bowling attack on that sort of a wicket, and then when you decide to bat first, you need to be sure and you need to have belief in yourself. So, we certainly back ourselves as a team and that’s something we have done throughout this tour. Yes, we were disappointed things did not come together in the first two games but we are really proud of this effort,” he said.
Du Plessis too accepted that the Indians played better cricket and deserved to be winners in the third Test. “As I said before the Test match, you just have a ground where you play better at. And I mentioned us as an example, we haven’t lost a game in Perth. I don’t know what the reason is. You’re just successful as a team. Obviously it’s got something to do with the conditions here.
“The Indian bowlers are very successful in these conditions. So that’s something we’ve got to remember when we play them here next time, that why is it that they are successful here. Obviously you could see that their bowlers were a real handful in this Test match. And credit to their batters, they put their hands up and put the runs on the board,” he said.
But what many people seem to be overlooking is the 5-match Test series coming up against England on their home grounds in June 2018, followed by the 4-match series against Australia Down Under. So, more than anything else, this win on a dangerous wicket will enhance Kohli and his boys’ belief and reputation that this team can win on foreign soil and become true world beaters.
Ajinkya Rahanefaf du plesisIndia vs South Africajasprit bumrahmohammed shamiRavi ShastriSouth Africa vs India 2018virat kohli
First Published: January 28, 2018, 7:35 AM IST