With the three ODIs ending in India’s favour, on Thursday (Dec 21), the visitors now shift their focus towards the two-match Test series versus South Africa, in the African nation. The Test series kick off on January 26, in Centurion, which will see many senior Indian players such as captain Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah, R Ashwin, etc. return to action after the ODI World Cup final loss, to Australia last month.

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Kohli will gear up for the Test series, in a country where India have still not won a red-ball series. In the 2021-22 SA tour, Kohli scored 161 runs at an average of 40.25 with a top score of 79 in two of the three Tests. Thus, he will hope for a bright series and move past the ODI WC heartbreak. Ahead of the series opener, former Indian cricketer-turned-commentator Sanjay Manjrekar has backed Kohli to be among runs and feels he will be fired up to do well.

Asked if we will see an aggressive Kohli as witnessed in the last Test series in SA, hinting at the stump-mic aggression from the then Indian captain, Manjrekar said while talking on Star Sports, “No (stump-mic aggression from last series repeat?) because we have a new leader in Rohit Sharma. But you are right, it brings back memories of players saying something that they have never done before, suggesting that the local broadcasters supported the South African team and all that.”

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“But that was a different temperamental team the last time around, under Rohit Sharma, they tend to play differently. It’s always the captain who creates the culture, so I don’t see that happening,” he opined.

‘When Virat Kohli is all fired up and angry, that’s the sight I like’

Manjrekar added, “I see Virat Kohli doing his own few things. He is going to get fired up. The last trip to South Africa, he did not get a big one and Kohli has had to work harder for Test runs recently. When Virat Kohli is all fired up and angry, that’s the sight I like. David Warner as well. When they get a little fired up, you see them batting better.”

Kohli has had a good run in South Africa, i.e. undoubtedly a tough place for batters. He averages a healthy 51.35 with 719 runs in 14 innings, including two hundreds and three half-centuries. At present, he missed out on the team’s ongoing three-day intra-squad game, in Pretoria, and returned to India due to family emergency. The 35-year-old is expected to join the team before the first Test gets underway. Meanwhile, opener Ruturaj Gaikwad has been ruled out of the red-ball series due to a finger injury.

The two Tests will be played in Centurion (Dec 26-30) and Cape Town (Jan 3-7).

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