SA vs IND: [WATCH] Rohit Sharma Praises Virat Kohli For His Brave Knock

Rohit Sharma, the captain of Team India, acknowledged Virat Kohli’s impressive innings of 76 (82) during the second innings of the Boxing Day Test against South Africa. Despite Kohli’s valiant effort, South Africa secured a comprehensive victory by an innings and 32 runs, taking a 1-0 lead in the 2-match Test series.

Following India’s challenging first innings total of 245, South Africa showcased impressive batting, amassing a substantial score of 408 on a challenging surface. The lack of discipline from the Indian bowlers played a role in this, allowing Dean Elgar (185), Marco Jansen (84*), and Bedingham (56) to capitalize with noteworthy innings.

Commencing their second innings on Day 3 with a 163-run deficit, Virat Kohli valiantly faced the aggressive South African pace attack, standing as the lone battler.

Unfortunately, the remaining Indian batters capitulated without putting up a fight. Kohli, the last wicket, departed in the 35th over, concluding the proceedings and the misery for the Indian team.

Upon the conclusion of his innings, Virat Kohli received a standing ovation from his teammates in the dressing room, as his score of 131 accounted for more than half of the team’s runs in that innings.

Leading the applause, Rohit Sharma welcomed Kohli with claps and back pats as he entered the dressing room following his dismissal. You can watch the video here:

https://x.com/trend_vkohli/status/1740623668575920483?s=46

“Sometimes, the opposition outperforms us and wins”: Rohit Sharma

During the post-match press conference following the 2nd Test, Rohit Sharma acknowledged that his team’s performance was subpar. Despite this, he expressed optimism about a turnaround in fortunes for the upcoming Test. Rohit said:

“Yes, we had a performance like this here. But, don’t forget, what we did in Australia and England. In Australia, we won the series, there our batters stepped up. In England, we drew a series, we shone with both bat and ball.”

“These type of performances happen. It’s not that we don’t know how to bat outside India. At times, oppositions play better than us and win matches. I think that’s what happened here.”

He added:

“It’s not like the opposition batted 110 overs, and we didn’t bat as many putting together both innings. In the last four tours outside India, go and see our records.”

India aims to stage a strong comeback and level the series in the second Test against South Africa scheduled for January 3 in Cape Town.

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