Edited by Deepali Verma
Stalwart batter Virat Kohli gets the title as the first batter to score 2000 runs in seven different calendar years during India’s crushing defeat to South Africa in the 1st Test on December 28. Dean Elgar’s elegant 185 combined with South Africa’s precise pace was enough to flatten India within three days.
When the rest of the batters were struggling to deal with the deadly pace trio of Kagiso Rabada, Marco Jansen and Nandre Burger, Kohli managed to score runs with quick singles and boundaries. He totalled on 76 off 82 balls during India’s defeat by an innings and 32 runs, which took his tally to 2006 runs in 2023. He also has achieved this feat previously in 2012 (2186 runs), 2014 (2286 runs), 2016 (2595 runs), 2017 (2818 runs), 2018 (2735 runs) and 2019 (2455 runs).
Moving on to day 3 action, India skipper Rohit Sharma’s dreadful run in South Africa, especially against Kagiso Rabada continued. Rabada’s inward angling delivery left Rohit baffled as he failed to read the trajectory, resulting in the ball crashing into the stumps. Sharma who is the veteran right-handed batter got removed for an eight-ball duck and this dismissal marked his 7th in 11 innings against Rabada.
Yashasvi Jaiswal attempted to skip the delivery, but the ball glanced off his glove and went straight to the wicketkeeper. Shubman Gill was expected to spend a good amount of time on the field but his attempt to play a shot across the straight line failed. Marco Jansen picked his first as Gill departed with a score of 26 off 37 balls.
The dismal start to the second innings further boosted the confidence of South Africa and struck India hard by removing Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul in quick succession. Once Burger removed Ravichandran Ashwin for a golden duck, India’s fate was more or less sealed
Jasprit Bumrah’s runout and a brilliant effort in the field by Dean Elgar echoed a mood of dismay. A brilliant knock from the South Africa team saw Mohammed Siraj gloving the ball straight to the wicketkeeper. Prasidh Krishna struggled hard but Jansen got the better of Kohli (76) which brought an end to India’s struggle within the first three days.
