PTI
Cape Town, January 14
There is “no running away” from India’s recurring batting collapses, captain Virat Kohli said after his team squandered a 1-0 series lead to lose two Tests in a row. Besides the batters’ failures, Kohli listed inconsistency, lack of application, lapses in concentration and an inability to seize the moment as the reasons for the team’s loss in the three-match series.
The batting has to be looked into, no running away from that. Having collapses every now and then, not a good thing Virat Kohli, India Captain
“The batting has to be looked into, no running away from that. Having collapses every now and then, not a good thing,” Kohli said. “No excuses there. It’s really disappointing for sure. We know how far we’ve come as a team. That people expect us to beat South Africa in South Africa is testimony to how far we’ve come. We haven’t done it, that’s the reality, accept it and come back as better cricketers,” he added.
India won the series-opener in Centurion by 113 runs but caved in against an inexperienced South African team in the remaining two matches. Kohli gave credit to South Africa for the manner in which they staged the turnaround. “We had a great first game but South Africa did amazingly well. In both Tests they won, they were clinical with the ball in crunch moments. Lapse of concentration cost us key moments and they seized those moments,” the captain said. “South Africa were absolutely the deserving winners.”
The star-studded Indian team thus failed to add to its incredible triumph in Australia last year, and Kohli attributed it to its inability to grab the key moments and capitalise on the momentum.
“As I said, one of the challenges we’ve faced touring abroad is make sure capitalising on momentum, when we’ve done that we’ve won Tests away from home. When we haven’t, they’ve cost us quite bad,” he said.
Speaking about the areas that require immediate attention, Kohli said, “Have had a few collapses that have cost us important moments and Test matches. It’s batting… Can’t pin-point any other aspect. People talk about pace and bounce, considering their heights, they (South African bowlers) were able to get much more off the wickets in all three Tests. They applied pressure long enough for us to make mistakes. It’s the understanding of conditions for them which they know very well.” —
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