IND Vs SA: Virat Kohli Has A "Special Ability" That Other Cricketers Don't- Sunil Gavaskar

Indian batting legend Sunil Gavaskar had words of appreciation towards ace batter Virat Kohli for having a special ability to understand and asses conditions of a particular pitch after the former Indian captain’s performance in the recently concluded test series between India and South Africa.

India after losing the 1st test by an innings and 32 runs in Centurion, came out with an intent to equalize the series after their main agenda of breaching the final frontier were put to rest by South Africa during the Boxing Day test. Rohit Sharma’s men defeated the Proteas by 7 wickets in Dean Elgar’s farewell test with India leaving South Africa with a drawn series for only the 2nd time ever.

Mohammed Siraj’s bowling masterclass in the 1st session saw him pick up 6 wickets for 15 in 9 overs and led to South Africa’s collapse for their 2nd lowest test total of 55. In response when India came out to bat in the 2nd innings, the Proteas’ bowling attack turned the tables and made life difficult for the opposition, specifically as soon as India scored 153.

In a dramatic turn of events, after KL Rahul’s departure, India lost 5 more wickets without scoring a single run as Lungi Ngidi, Kagiso Rabada and a run out from Nandre Burger led to a 2nd innings conclusion within the space of 3 overs.

It will be fair to say that despite bowling improvements, the Indian batting line-up continued to falter except Virat Kohli who ended up as India’s highest scorer in the 2nd test. He scored 46 off 59 before falling prey to Kagiso Rabada for the 5th time in tests but the 35-year-old with all his experience was hands down India’s best batter even if KL Rahul scored a 100 at Centurion.

Sunil Gavaskar Hails Virat Kohli For His Effortless Batting In South Africa

As the 2nd test finished in 1 and a half days, Sunil Gavaskar after criticizing the Newlands pitch, hailed Virat Kohli for holding onto his composure and his batting technique in challenging South African conditions. Gavaskar further stated that when Kohli took the guard, the pitch looked different as compared to when other Indian batters tried batting in Newlands.

“This was a two-match series, the Test matches lasted four-and-a-half days, which means it was a series that lasted less than a Test match. However, there also Virat Kohli looked the most comfortable batter because Kohli has the special ability to assess the pitch.”

“He figures out how to play and how not to play, when to play shots and when not to play, and because of that, when he was batting, especially here (Cape Town), it seemed like it was a different pitch.” – Gavaskar said.

Gavaskar Claims Virat Kohli’s Slight Technical Adjustment Helped Him In This Tour

Sunil Gavaskar who is known for his accurate and out-of-the-box assessment, noticed a slight technical adjustment in the way Virat Kohli batted across the 2-match test series in South Africa. The 74-year-old claimed that his head positioning has become very still and his initial movement before playing a shot has also improved.

He further stated that Kohli’s reluctance to move outside the off-stump to play deliveries away from his body is the reason why he was India’s best batter in the 2023/24 Freedom Trophy series.

“Firstly, his head is absolutely still. Secondly, when he was in slight trouble two years ago, I felt he was doing too much initial movement. Now he is doing only a slight movement because of which a little bit of the off-stump is seen.” – Gavaskar added.

“Earlier he was going outside the off-stump and because of that he was playing distant deliveries and getting out. Now his right eye is above the off-stump, so he comes to know whether to play the ball or not. That is why he is very certain outside the off-stump.” – Gavaskar concluded.