Virat Kohli Vs South Africa

Kohli the key in South Africa

Ever since Virat Kohli has taken up the mantle of Indian Cricket team, everything has been going his way. From becoming the number one test team to winning everything, that has come their way in the ODIS. India under Kohli have won 10 consecutive test series and 8 one day series too. However, what is common in all these wins is that either almost all of them come at home or against teams that are weak. Barring a series win in West Indies, India has won all the matches in Asia. 

At the start of 2018, India will tour to South Africa where they will play three test matches and 6 ODIS. The series has been dubbed as the ultimate test for both team India and its skipper Virat Kohli. If Virat manages to win the series on African soil, he will become the first Indian captain to achieve the feat and that will make him the cricket’s uncrowned king. He will achieve what no Indian captain ever has achieved.

Both Ganguly and Dhoni have been highly successful in the subcontinent and what has eluded them is the series win away from home on fast pacy tracks. And it is this feat of winning away from home that could set Kohli apart from the two greats of Indian cricket.  Ganguly came close to winning in Australia in 2003 and Dhoni almost did it against South Africa in 2008. Both came agonizingly close but were unsuccessful, however cricket pundits have high hopes on Kohli and that he could be the first Indian skipper to win a test series in South Africa.

While Ganguly struggled on foreign tours with the bat, Dhoni struggled with handling his bowlers on the overseas tours. And it’s here that the pundits believe that Kohli with his greatness could do what both of the former great captains could not. Kohli is both aggressive and a freak with a bat, and he could very well inspire his team into performing well in South Africa. His batting would be detrimental to the fate of his first overseas assignment against a strong team. If he performs with the bat, his performance would bring confidence in his captainship too, which will augur well for the team, and India will end up winning its first series in South Africa. If he fails with the bat , it will affect his captaincy and India might end up losing the series embarrassingly

Kohli has been in sublime form in both tests and ODIs, but his weakness with the moving ball was well taken advantage of by the English bowlers in his last tour to England . if Kohli finds a way to handle the swinging ball he might very well become the greatest captain ever. However, be rest assured it will take a lot of doing to negate the fearsome attack of South Africans that will be bolstered with the return of Dale Steyn