In 2018, the Indian team won a historic 63-race victory in Johannesburg, which turned out to be a good thing for that tour. Although after this, the team lost in England and New Zealand, but the team succeeded in winning series one after another in Australia. This was followed by a series win in the West Indies and a 2-1 lead in England in September, and India presented a strong image on foreign soil.
When asked about the victory in Johannesburg at a press conference, Virat Kohli said: “We can take inspiration from that (the Johannesburg victory in 2018). We probably won in the toughest conditions on that tour, so we got a lot out of it.” . You will have confidence. South Africa is a place where we haven’t won a series yet. So we are very excited to win a series here. “
India is touring South Africa again, from where the spectacular overseas tours began, with the team led by Kohli arriving in Johannesburg to win the test series. Although Team India has yet to win the series in South Africa.
In their home series against New Zealand, from seasoned players like Mayank Agarwal and Ravichandran Ashwin to youngsters like Shreyas Iyer and Mohammad Siraj, India performed well. However, the Indian team’s hitting has some flaws, notably Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane did not score runs, just as Kohli did not score a single century since November 2019.
Pujara has failed to score a single century in 42 innings. At the same time, Rahane has scored runs in the last 16 events averaging just 24.39, despite scoring an impressive 112 runs at the Melbourne Boxing Day Trial. Rohit Sharma, the leading scorer in this year’s Tests due to injury, is out of the Test series and Pujara, Rahane and Kohli will have to take more responsibility in his absence in the batting order.
In the 2018 series, India’s hitters were disappointed in hitting in the first two games as South Africa took an impregnable lead in the series. However, in Johannesburg, the Indian team ended their campaign with a victory. In the case of fast bowling, India has Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami in addition to Mohammad Siraj and Umesh Yadav. Also Ishant Sharma, who has been in trouble since the Oval Test against England in September.
Speaking of the spin department, Ravindra Jadeja and his ilk Axar Patel are not playing South Africa due to injuries. With Ashwin and Jayant Yadav as substitutes for spin, India will consider how to continue with its five-man bowling strategy.
India will also have to stay away from off-the-field controversies to perform better in South Africa. Kohli’s press conference has created a stir in Indian cricket as he directly refuted comments by BCCI President Sourav Ganguly that he was not asked to step down as captain of the T20 and later as captain of the ODI. No notice of removal as mentioned.
At the same time, Kohli also dismissed the talk about his unavailability for the ODI series, which will take place immediately after the Test. The enthusiasm for winning a series of events in South Africa is great. But India has to distance itself from external disputes. The trend that started in Johannesburg in 2018 may continue in 2021/22 as well.
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