SA vs IND 2024: “Virat Kohli has the special ability to assess the pitch” – Sunil Gavaskar lauds talisman’s performances

Legendary Sunil Gavaskar hailed Virat Kohli’s consistent performances in the two-match Test series against South Africa. Gavaskar said Kohli has the special ability to assess the pitch and deliver for the team.

Kohli played a vital knock of 46 runs in the first innings of the second Test match and played an instrumental role in helping India take a 98-run lead. It wasn’t the easiest of pitches to bat on but Kohli adopted an aggressive approach and scored six fours and one six in his knock.

The talisman scored 172 runs in two Test matches against the Proteas at an average of 43 and finished as the second-highest run-getter of the series after Dean Elgar.

Speaking to Star Sports, Virat Kohli said, “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.”

The former Indian captain added it looked like Kohli was batting on a different pitch in the first innings.

“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 added that Kohli was a league above everyone in the first essay and played at the top of his game to deliver for the team.

“The batters were struggling at the other end. They weren’t able to understand whether to go forward or back and how to play when the ball was bouncing. It didn’t seem like that at all when Virat Kohli was playing. He got out to his first mistake. It is evident when a player is of a different class.”

Meanwhile, Kohli could not deliver on the previous tour of South Africa and Gavaskar feels some technical adjustments have helped the veteran batter.

“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.”

“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.”

India will next take on Afghanistan in a three-match T20I series.