Virat Kohli – The Gladiator with an artist’s wrists in Cape Town

On a surface with a lush green top and with zero regard for the batters at Cape Town, the Indian cricket team needed someone to stand up in the center and get them to a score that looked decent enough. When the tough times come knocking, the tough man comes forward with own bag of tricks and resilience ready to brave any odds in his way.

Talk about majesty and resilience in the same breath and the first name that would come to your mind is that of Virat Kohli. The former Indian captain once again showed it to the world why he still dictates the long list of batters who are planning to chase down the flurry of records that he has carved over the span of the years.

The surface in Cape Town that hosted the second South Africa vs India Test was possibly one of the most difficult tops to bat on with a lush green cover and some mercurial lateral movement. As the South African bowlers troubled the Indian batters constantly, Kohli took a firm stand, knitting India’s resistance ball by ball and run by run. His start to the innings was slightly fortunate as his outside edge barely escaped the extended hands of the second slip but he followed it up with an exquisite drive against Nandre Burger that went straight between the bowler and the mid-off fielder.

The former Indian captain was not going to sit back and defend while South Africa bowled looseners. Marco Jansen’s fuller delivery was nicely carved through extra cover and mid-off as Kohli started scoring at an extremely brisk pace.

The next boundary from Kohli took a while to arrive but it was Marco Jansen again who was the receiving end as the former rocked back in the crease and pumped him over point for another boundary. Mixing aggression in the perfect breath with a sense of belief and calm, Kohli kept on chipping away at those runs comfortably.

He saved the best for the best as Kagiso Rabada was launched over square leg for a maximum as the stylish right-hander rekindled memories of Sachin Tendulkar pulling off a similar shot in this exact ground, 27 years ago and that too in a New Year’s Test.

Rabada felt the sting from Kohli for a second drive, this time slightly uppish in nature through covers as India pinned their hopes on the run-machine like ever. Despite failing to forge on further resistance, Kohli’s 46 from 56 balls played a crucial role in helping India craft a lead of 98 runs in the first innings.