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Kohli hot on Smith’s heels as India eye clean sweep
RANCHI, India, Oct 17, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – On-song Virat Kohli is looking
to topple Aussie run machine Steve Smith in the international batting
rankings as India push for a whitewash over South Africa in the third Test
starting Saturday.
Kohli’s career-best 254 not out in India’s second successive win in the
three-match series moved him to within one point of Smith in the
International Cricket Council Test chart.
Smith replaced Kohli at number one last month following his blazing
Ashes series against England and after the Indian star made a golden duck
against the West Indies.
The Australian, who only returned to Tests in August after a year-long
ban for ball-tampering, is out of action in the five-day format until
November 21 when Australia host Pakistan.
Kohli regained lost ground against the struggling South Africans in the
current series as he registered his seventh Test double century, joining
England great Wally Hammond and Sri Lanka’s Mahela Jayawardene.
He also went past Don Bradman’s tally of 6,996 runs in 52 Tests that led
India to register their record 11th straight Test triumph at home. Australia
had two streaks of 10 wins in a row.
“I’m just happy to be where I am. Putting the team in a commanding
position is the only thing I strive for,” Kohli, who tops the ODI batting
chart, said after India took an unassailable 2-0 lead in Pune on Sunday.
“Of course I enjoy scoring runs, but if they come in a winning cause,
nothing like it.”
Kohli meanwhile has even won praise from former Pakistan speedster
Shoaib Akhtar who praised the Indian for his “fearless” brand of cricket.
“He will score 250 in future as well,” Akhtar said on his YouTube
channel. “Kohli has learnt from his mistakes and has become a good captain.”
– ‘Boring’ pitches –
South Africa skipper Faf du Plessis will be hoping to give his team more
of a chance from the get-go in Ranchi after losing the toss in the first two
Tests.
This allowed India to amass a mammoth first-innings total of 502 in
Visakhapatnam as South Africa’s bowlers toiled, a feat outdone in Pune when
the hosts declared on 601.
This prompted former England captain Michael Vaughan to call Indian Test
pitches “boring”.
“The first 3/4 days the contest is far too in favour of the bat… needs
more action for the bowler,” Vaughan tweeted last Friday.
Dean Elgar’s 160 has been the visitors’ only standout show in the series
so far.
Paceman Kagiso Rabada said the up-and-coming team — following the
retirements of Hashim Amla and Dale Steyn — should pick up the positives and
move ahead.
“Our team is fresh and young, so the best thing we can do is look at
where we can improve and remember our strengths and build on them,” he said.
He added, “From a physical point of view we need to execute our skills
and from a mental point of view, we need to believe we can do it in certain
situations. It’s a balance we’re working on.”
Bss/AFP/MSY/1425 hrs