Virat Kohli was unbeaten on 40 at tea on day 1 of the third Test between India and South Africa at Cape Town and it has been a tough shift at work for the Indian captain to say the least. South African pacers Kagiso Rabada, Duanne Olivier, Marco Jansen and Lungi Ngidi have tested Kohli on the off stump line and the Indian skipper has shown great discipline so far to remain unbeaten.
India are in a tough spot at 141/4 with the likes of KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane back in the hut and a lot rides on the shoulders of Kohli if India are to put up a challenging total on the board.
Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar praised Kohli on commentary for his tough knock so far. "It has been great. He has shown a lot of discipline around that off stump area. That is exactly what the team wants from him. As long as he is there India will be hoping to get another 100 or even more than that. With Ashwin and Shardul to come and Umesh and Shami can slog, this is going to be the key partnership," Gavaskar said.
Former India opener Aakash Chopra also heaped praise on Kohli for his tough knock.
"His (Kohli's) cricket actually is a lot about discipline and sticking to the processes and that is what he has done. It is mind over matter. He has played a few absolutely fluent cover drives but he has waited and waited and made the bowlers come close to him and that is when he has actually looked to score.
And that is the wide array of things he can do as a batter. He can demolish you with his stroke making and he can also frustrate you and keep you at bay with his great defense and knowing where his off stump is," Chopra said while speaking at the tea time show on host broadcaster Star Sports.
Kohli has not scored a century in any format since November 2019 and is looking to bring that drought to an end.