SA vs IND: Virat Kohli heaps praise on pacers after emphatic win, says Shami among best three seamers in world
Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Shami (Photo by RANDY BROOKS/AFP via Getty Images)
India picked up an emphatic win over South Africa in the first Test in Centurion. The Virat Kohli-led side was at their ferocious best and dismantled the host by 113 runs. India needed six wickets to win on the final day. The bowlers came out all guns blazing and blew away the African batting lineup.
The Indian pace bowling has turned the fate of Indian cricket upside down. One of the main reasons India were not successful away from home for decades was the lack of quality pacers in the team. However, the emergence of fast bowlers like Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj and others have made them a daunting opposition, who can win against any team in any conditions.
There were a few memorable performances in the match. KL Rahul scored a breathtaking hundred in the first innings to help India to post a decent total. Later, Mohammed Shami displayed tremendous skills with the ball and picked up a fifer to bowl out South Africa way below India’s first-inning total. The script didn’t change in the second innings as well as Indian pacers ran riot.
India skipper Virat Kohli was pleased with India’s win and lauded the bowlers. He was particularly in praise of Mohammed Shami and termed him as one of the best three bowlers in world cricket at the moment. “He is absolutely world class talent. For me he’s in the best three seamers in the world at the moment. His strong wrist, his seam position and his ability to hit a length consistently. Very, very happy for him to get 200 wickets and have an impactful performances.”
Meanwhile, Kohli also lauded the efforts of the batters who helped them post a decent total in the first inning on a challenging wicket. “The discipline that the batters showed. Winning the toss, batting first overseas is a tough challenge. Credit to Mayank and KL the way they set it up. We knew we were in pole position with anything over 300-320. We have a lot of belief in our bowling unit and knew the bowlers will get the job done,” Kohli pointed out.
The second Test will be played from January 3 in Johannesburg.
