IND V SA: Virat Kohli Short On Confidence, Says Sanjay Manjrekar Before Third Test

Former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar, ahead of the third and final Test match between South Africa and India to be played at Cape Town, said that this is the first time he is seeing India captain Virat Kohli short of confidence. But the former Indian cricketer expressed hope about Kohli returning to form in the third Test against South Africa in Cape Town.

One of the biggest talking points, not only in Indian cricket, but all cricket has been that Virat Kohli hasn’t scored a century in international cricket since November 2019, when he hit a ton against Bangladesh in a day-night Test in Kolkata’s Eden Gardens.

The Indian red-ball captain looked good in the first Test but was dismissed for 35 and 18 after reaching out for deliveries outside the off-stump.

Virat Kohli Is A Great Batter. He’s Certainly Out Of Form: Sanjay Manjrekar

Virat Kohli didn’t play the second Test against South Africa due to a stiff upper back but looked good to make his return to the Indian playing XI for the third and final Test to be played in Newlands, Cape Town from January 11.

Speaking in this regard on interaction with ESPNcricinfo, Manjrekar said: “Virat Kohli is a great batter. He’s certainly out of form. It’s the first time I have seen – I saw this in the IPL as well – that he’s a bit low on confidence which I thought would never happen. That’s why they say ‘never say never’. We have seen that because he hasn’t scored runs, his self-confidence has dipped a bit. But he’s a great batter and when he’ll score runs, he’ll be back in form because he’ll keep scoring consistently. It’s completely possible that he’ll be back in form in this Test.”

India won the first Test match by 113 runs, becoming the first Asian side to win a Test in Centurion. However, the South African team bounced back thanks to some amazing bowling by Marco Jansen and Kagiso Rabada and a stoic 96* from captain Dean Elgar helped the home side win in Johannesburg by 7 wickets.

India has never won a Test series in South Africa since 1992 and has a great chance to create history and complete one Test series win at least in all SENA countries.

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