Team India’s Test captain Virat Kohli believes they can do ‘something special’ against South Africa in what is considered to be the final frontier that is yet to be conquered. The Asian giants will play a three-match series against the Proteas starting December 26 in Centurion.
India will bank on their recent impressive records on overseas conditions to overcome the South Africa challenge. Speaking at the press conference, Kohli asserted that they are placed well to beat Dean Elgar & Co.
“We are very well placed in terms of experience, belief and confidence that this time around we can do something special and get the results that we want as a team and overcome probably the toughest conditions to go and win a series,” Kohli said on Wednesday.
“South Africa is one place where we have not won a series yet. So we are very motivated to do that. And the mindset is always to go there and win a series in any country that we play. We don’t anymore think of just winning a Test here and there and we will do our absolute best that we can as a team and make sure that we keep contributing towards that cause,” he added.
India have managed to find rare success on alien conditions in the last couple of years. They defeated Australia back to back in 2018-19 and 2020-21 before beating England in their own backyard before the series was called off due to the COVID-19 scare.
“We will take a lot of motivation and a lot of belief from that victory” – Virat Kohli
š¬ š¬ @ImRo45 and Rahul Dravid have my absolute support: @imVkohli #TeamIndia #SAvIND pic.twitter.com/jXUwZ5W1Dz
— BCCI (@BCCI) December 15, 2021
The Indian captain further stated that if they begin the series well and continue the right momentum they have every chance of winning the series. In the history of Test cricket, there are only three teams — England, Australia, and Sri Lanka — who have managed to beat South Africa in their own backyard.
“We can take a lot of motivation from that of course. We probably won in the toughest conditions on that tour. So that should give us a lot of confidence,” Kohli said.
“If we have the right mindset then we start off the series with a lot of confidence and belief we can definitely stand up to any challenge that comes our way and take a lot of heart from it. We will take a lot of motivation and a lot of belief from that victory,” Kohli concluded.
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