Team India was dealt with a massive blow ahead of the second Test of the three-match series against South Africa. Hours before the commencement of the match, skipper Virat Kohli was ruled out from the game due to back spasms. In the absence of Virat, it was vice-captain KL Rahul who was named as the leader of the team.

Following the conclusion of the second Test match, it won’t be wrong to say that Team India dearly missed their regular skipper. As South Africa were given a target of 240 runs to chase in the fourth innings, India were lacking the aggression and fighting spirit of Kohli. India lost the second match by seven wickets to level the series by 1-1. Do check the BBL 2022 schedule here.

Ahead of the third Test match, there is good news for the Indian contingent. Speaking about the availability of the skipper, head coach Rahul Dravid hinted that Virat is doing better and he is likely to feature in the third Test, scheduled from January 11 to January 15 at the Newlands in Cape Town. 

Rahul Dravid gives an update on Virat Kohli

Virat Kohli

Virat Kohli

In a virtual press conference, Dravid reckoned that Kohli should be fine from all accounts as he had a couple of net sessions. The head coach believes that the skipper should be good to participate in the upcoming four to five days. 

“Virat Kohli should be fine from all accounts, he should be fine. He has had the opportunity to run around a little bit, he has had the opportunity to test it a little bit. Hopefully, with a couple of net sessions in Cape Town, he should be good to go. Everything I am hearing and just having a chat with him, he should be good to go in four days’ time,” said Dravid during a virtual press conference.

Further in the interaction, Dravid opened up on the batting failure in the second Test match. One of the main reasons behind India losing in Johannesburg is the below-average performance by the batters. Opting to bat first, India ended up with only 202 runs. KL Rahul was decent as he hit a half-century, however, the opening batter failed to convert it into a big score. 

India’s second batting innings also saw a collapse as the visitors could add only 266 runs. Cheteshwra Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane showed some form as they hammered a fifty each. However, both the players couldn’t prolong their stay in the middle. 

When the head coach was questioned about the same, Dravid said that it was a tough batting wicket for both teams. The former Indian skipper also acknowledged the mistake by the batters as he added that they should have added 50 or 60 runs more to present South Africa with a challenging score. Here are the best cricket betting apps in india. Red more here.

Dravid opens up on the batting failure

Virat Kohli

Team India

“It has been challenging wickets for both the teams, South Africa’s fourth innings was probably their best with the bat. Yes, as a batting unit we can look to seize a few key moments and when we get partnerships, we can look to make them longer.

“It was challenging in the first innings but we could have gotten 55-60 runs more which could have made a huge difference. Certainly, we would like to bat a little better. Maybe the guys who got starts could have converted them into 100s. That was the difference in the first game, we had Rahul scoring a century for us and we ended up on the winning side. Dean Elgar scored 96 in this Test and South Africa ended up on the winning side,” he added.

Meanwhile, Rahul Dravid was all praises for Hanuma Vihari. The middle-order batter was added to the team as a replacement for skipper Virat Kohli. Vihari added 20 runs in the first innings. Meanwhile, it was the second batting innings that truly reflected the grit and charter of the batter. 

Vihari formed small partnerships with the lower middle-order to hammer not out 40 runs off 84 deliveries. Speaking about the same, Dravid said that India should take confidence and inspiration from Vihari’s innings for the third Test match.  Here is our cricket betting tips today.

“Hanuma Vihari played really well in both the innings. He batted beautifully in the second innings, Shreyas Iyer batted well for us in the past. The guys have to take heart from the fact that they are doing well when the opportunity is presenting itself. It happens, it is the nature of the sport and we can take confidence from the way Vihari batted in this game,” Dravid concluded.

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