In the first Test against South Africa, Virat Kohli showcased his batting prowess by achieving his 30th half-century in Test cricket. This notable feat occurred on Day 3 of the Boxing Day Test at the SuperSport Park in Centurion, where Kohli reached the milestone by elegantly dispatching South African pacer Nandre Burger for a boundary in the 28th over.
With an impressive record of 29 centuries in the red-ball format, Kohli’s innings not only marked a personal achievement but also propelled him past VVS Laxman, securing his position as India’s fourth-highest scorer in Test cricket. As of now, Kohli follows cricket legends Sachin Tendulkar, Sunil Gavaskar, and Rahul Dravid in the overall Test runs scored for India.
Talking about the match, the South African team captain Temba Bavuma won the toss and asked the Indian batters to start the proceedings a bit late on Day 1 due to rain.
Batting first on a pace friendly wicket, Team India managed to post only 245 runs on the board thanks to KL Rahul’s magnificent 101 runs off 137 balls. Kohli scored 38 while Shreyas Iyer and Shardul Thakur contributed 31 and 24 runs respectively.
Meanwhile, South Africa felt no pressure against the Indian bowling lineup that was missing a key bowler in Mohammed Shami.
South Africa’s stand-in captain Dean Elgar, after Temba Bavuma suffered injury while fielding, was the hero for his side as he scored a massive 185 runs of 287 balls in his last ever Test series. Debutant David Bedingham scored 56 while lower down the order, Marco Jansen scored 84 runs to help the Proteas post 408 runs on the board.
Team India meanwhile was dismissed for 131 runs in the 2nd inning in 34 overs as South Africa won the match by an innings and 32 runs. Virat Kohli was the top scorer for India as he scored 76 runs. South Africa have now taken 1-0 lead in the series with 1 match to go in Cape Town, starting in New Year.
