Watch: Virat Kohli’s Wait For 71st Century Lengthens As Kagiso Rabada Dismisses Him With A Perfect Delivery

Indian captain Virat Kohli’s wait for his 71^st international century continues as, despite a resolute knock-in Cape Town, the three-figure mark continues to elude him, thanks to South Africa’s Kagiso Rabada.

Kohli returned to action for the Indian team for the third and series-deciding Test match between South Africa and India at the Newlands in Cape Town. Virat replaced Hanuma Vihari in the Indian playing XI, while surprisingly Umesh Yadav was preferred over Ishant Sharma to replace the injured Mohammed Siraj as the third pacer in the team.

Virat Kohli won the toss and chose to bat first despite a bit of cloud cover. However, the decision came to bite the Indian team as both openers KL Rahul (12) and Mayank Agarwal (15) were back in the pavilion for 33 runs on the board. Cheteshwar Pujara (43) and Virat Kohli steadied the ship a bit and added 62 runs for the third wicket partnership, but then Marco Jansen had Pujara caught behind.

Virat Kohli Stands Tall Amidst The Rubble Of Indian Batting; Kagiso Rabada Shines In His 50^th Test

Indian captain Virat Kohli had come in with a plan to counter Proteas’ bowlers enticing him outside the off-stump and restricted his trigger movement to middle stump only, leaving the balls outside the off-stump easily. He did play cover drives, but only when the ball was well pitched up and in his half.

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However, his downfall came as he watched wickets falling at the other end in a heap. Ajinkya Rahane soon followed Pujara for 9 runs, continuing his poor run of form, punctuated by a decent knock in middle. Shardul Thakur made 12 runs, while Rishabh Pant kept himself in check for 50 balls, making 27 runs, but got out trying to hit a ball over the gully fielder.

Kohli decided to gather some runs quickly and get to his century, but Kagiso Rabada had some other plans. The brilliant South African quick, playing in his 50^th match had already previously dismissed Agarwal, Rahane, and Bumrah and got Kohli’s scalp as well.

Kohli, on 79, tried to nudge a ball just outside off stump trying to farm strike against Rabada and managed to give a catch to Kyle Verreynne instead, ending up on 79 in 201 balls with 12 fours and 1 six.

Rabada finished on 4/73 as India folded up for 223 runs in their first innings.

Watch the Kohli dismissal here:

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Kohli tempted for cover drive ?
Ball on six stump ?
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