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Virat Kohli (Source-Twitter)
Team India has battled the odds as South African pacers made good use of a spicy pitch in Centurion. On a day where the ball was doing all the talking the Indian batters found the going tough with the bat.
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Virat Kohli is playing his first game for India since the loss in the ODI World Cup 2023 final. The 35-year-old had given the white ball series against South Africa a miss to spend some quality time with his family.
The former India skipper had flown back home to India just a few days before the Centurion test could begin. Once he re-joined the Indian team, Virat Kohli praised the rigors of Test Cricket and how much he loves to play the longest format of cricket.
Virat Kohli gets to new landmark –
It was a noisy Centurion ground as Virat Kohli came out to bat on the opening day of the first Test on Tuesday. The former Indian skipper scored 38 runs before he was caught behind thanks to a beautiful ball from Kagiso Rabada.
When he was batting on 17, Virat Kohli went past a very special record held by Rahul Dravid. India’s current coach had scored 1252 runs against South Africa to be placed 4th in the list for leading run-scorers.
Virat Kohli has now gone past Rahul Dravid and become the 4th highest run-getter in Test Cricket against the Proteas. Former India opener Virender Sehwag is sitting in the number three place with 1306 runs. For the record, Sachin Tendulkar has scored over 1700 runs to take the top spot.
Kagiso Rabada was singing praises of the former India skipper just before the start of the opening Test. During a chat with Star Sports India, the pacer said “The biggest threat in the Indian batting lineup. Think you obviously can’t rule out a guy like Virat Kohli. He’s played here in South Africa quite a few times, so he would say that he understands the conditions”
The fast bowler also said “It’s always great playing against great players. He’s had some success against us, but at the same time we too have been successful against him. It’s a battle I look forward to always when you measure yourself against the best. That’s the reason why you play”