India have another shot at conquering what is being labelled as the final frontier as they take on South Africa in the 3rd and final Test at Newlands in Cape Town from January 11. The World No.1 Test side had headed into the series as favourites and they lived up to the reputation by becoming the first team from Asia to win a Test match in Centurion. However, South Africa bounced back in Johannesburg, coming up with a resolute effort to deny India an unbeatable series lead.
With the series level at 1-1, India have another opportunity to script history and win their first-ever Test series in South Africa. It's not going to be easy as history doesn't favour the Asian giants who have never managed to win at Newlands. In 5 matches in the past, India have lost 3 and managed draws on 2 occasions. In 2018, India were let down by their batters as they failed to chase 208, losing the Test by 72 runs.
Despite the history and the defeat in the 2nd Test, India will head to Cape Town as favourites, albeit by a slender margin. The visitors received a big boost as captain Virat Kohli confirmed that he is "absolutely fit" for the series decider.
As opposition captain Dean Elgar pointed out on Monday, India did miss the captaincy and the tactical acumen of skipper Kohli who sat out in the 2nd Test due to a back spasm. KL Rahul led India in Kohli's absence but the young stand-in captain struggled to restrict South Africa in the final innings wherein Elgar helped them chase down 240 with an unbeaten 96. South Africa gunned down the target on Day 5 with 7 wickets to spare.
Kohli had stressed on Monday that he felt a little guilty for missing the 2nd Test and, no doubt, he will be motivated to give his best. Big runs have been eluding the India captain for quite some time but he maintained that he is not worried about the outside noise.
India will be glad if Kohli finds form and gets a big one in the crunch series decider in Cape Town. Watch out for how he deals with cover drives to deliveries bowled wide off the stumps as lack of discipline brought early ends to his knocks in Centurion.
"I don't look at myself from the lens that the outside world looks at me. The standards I have been compared with have been set by myself. More than anyone else I take pride in wanting to do the best for the team. In sports sometimes things don't go the way you want them to go but I realise that I have been involved in very important moments in the last year or so as a batter," Kohli added.
(With inputs from agencies)