Virat Kohli’s bold move to bat first in the third and final T20I on Sunday backfired as Quinton de Kock guided South Africa to a series-leveling nine-wicket win.
To everyone’s surprise, Kohli opted to bat first after winning the toss on M. Chinnaswamy’s surface, always known to favour the teams chasing in the shortest format.
India lost an early wicket of vice-captain Rohit Sharma when he edged a Beuran Hendricks delivery straight into the hands of first slip. And when Hendricks came back to bowl the fifth over, there was a little shoulder-nudge from captain Kohli as he ran past the South African pacer. The shoulder-nudge was a reply by Kohli to Hendricks’ intimidating stare.
Kohli was dismissed by Kagiso Rabada a couple of overs later. The right-hander scored just nine runs off 15 balls before being sent back to the pavilion.
Here’s the video:
King se panga nhi lene ka👑#INDvSA #viratkohli pic.twitter.com/1k3Ujqb2E0
— Pravin (@ifeelcricket) September 22, 2019
In their 135-run chase, South African captain de Kock looked in complete control and struck six fours and five sixes in his unbeaten 52-ball unbeaten 79.
He added 76 runs for the first wicket with Reeza Hendricks in 10 overs and then put on another 64 with Temba Bavuma.
