As they play the Proteas in a two-match series starting on Tuesday, December 26 at SuperSport Park, Centurion, Team India will try to snap their winless streak in Test series in South Africa. Following the 2023 ODI World Cup, senior pros Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Ravichandran Ashwin will make their series debuts.
Notably, a family situation forced Kohli to return home prior to the first test, although he is anticipated to return in time for the series. Because of his outstanding record in Test matches played in South Africa, he will once again be expected to carry the Indian batting load. Former South African hitter AB de Villiers has disclosed a strategy to remove Virat Kohli before the series begins.
The only method to get a batsman like Virat Kohli out is to bowl on the fourth stump channel and wait it out. And bide your time for that one delivery that comes a little late.
Hindustan Times cited AB De Villiers as stating, “You can’t attack a good player.”
AB de Villiers went on to draw parallels between Kohli and the illustrious Sachin Tendulkar, saying that the bowlers must be reliable in the off-stump channel in order to force a mistake out of Kohli.
It was foolish to always wait for the leg before (before an oncoming pitch), much like in Tendulkar’s instance. as he would strike you in the middle of the wicket. Thus, bowl such deliveries outside of Virat’s off-stump and bide your time till one nips in or nips away,” he continued.
In South Africa, Virat Kohli has amassed 719 runs in Test matches.
Notably, Kohli has amassed 719 runs at an average of 51.35 from 14 innings played in South Africa throughout Test matches. He has hit two hundred, three fifties, and his maximum score of 153. In addition, he scored 286 runs in three innings at an average of 47.66 to top both teams’ run scores in the 2018 series. In three Test matches, he was also the only player from either side to reach 100 runs.