The first Twenty20 International between Team India and South Africa was canceled on Sunday due to nonstop rain in Durban. Rain caused the game at Kingsmead to be abandoned without a toss; the match was supposed to be the curtain-raiser for the series, which also consists of three ODIs and two Tests. Before the series switches to the fifty-over format, there are still two Twenty20 Internationals to be played. India’s two key batting stars, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, will not play in the white-ball leg of the series but will make their international comeback in the Tests, which kicked off on December 26.
Jacques Kallis, the renowned former all-rounder from South Africa, too underlined that Kohli will be crucial to India winning their first-ever Test series in South Africa. In the ICC World Cup 2023, the 35-year-old Kohli put on an outstanding display, making tournament history with a record-breaking 765 runs in 11 innings. Kohli also made history by being the first batter in the history of the game to hit 50 ODI hundreds during the tournament’s semi-final.
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The batter’s prominence in the next series is further enhanced by his stellar record in Test matches played in South Africa. The Indian batting prodigy has scored 719 runs at an astounding average of 51.36 over the course of 14 innings. Kohli achieved two century and three half-centuries during this time.
“He’s a major player anywhere he plays. “He’ll be able to impart that knowledge to the other guys, especially the younger guys, and give them ideas on how to manage these conditions and then what to expect,” Kallis said on Star Sports during the pre-match show prior to the first T20I. Kallis has played here quite a bit and had some success.
“He will undoubtedly want to hold a major series in South Africa. He has been performing well. I believe he will be very important to India. He will need to have a strong series if they are to prevail here, Kallis stated.
South Africa, sometimes referred to as India’s “final frontier,” is the only nation where the national side has not yet won a Test series. A team captained by Virat Kohli defeated the Proteas 1-0 in Centurion two years prior, although they ultimately lost 1-2.
