3 best battles between Kagiso Rabada and Virat Kohli
In the much-anticipated Test series between India and South Africa, Virat Kohli and Kagiso Rabada, as usual, were in the spotlight.
Everyone wanted to witness the battle between the two superstars of the game, both central to their respective team's chances in the series.
When the two modern greats squared off, there were punches and counter-punches thrown at each other in equal measure.
Virat Kohli averages 58.3 against Rabada in the longest format, having managed to score 215 runs, with Rabada dismissing him four times.
So, with the series already underway and Rabada winning the first round, let's look back at some of the epic showdown in Test matches between these two champion performers.
3 best battles between Kagiso Rabada and Virat Kohli
#3 Cape Town, 2021
On a surface where curators had left grass in abundance to offer more bounce and lateral movement, batting first was never going to be an easy task for the visitors.
With India looking shaky at 33/2, they once again needed Virat Kohli to bail them out, with Kagiso Rabada and Duanne Olivier breathing fire.
Rabada welcomed Kohli with a bouncer, pushing him onto the backfoot, and then tested him with fuller-length deliveries to invite the drive. Getting out trying to drive has been one of Virat's weaknesses in recent times.
He even induced a false shot when Kohli, unsure of playing or leaving, shouldered the ball off the stump line, only to take a faint edge to the boundary.
However, this ball awakened Virat, giving him an idea of the bounce and pace of the surface. He started to leave anything at length around off-stump, played close to the body, and registered a well-measured half-century.
Yet, a lack of partners on the other end forced him to push through a delivery that he had been leaving throughout his innings.
#2 Centurion, 2023
Virat Kohli was looking rock solid in his defense and strokeplay in this innings. He was playing inside the line of the ball, playing late, covering the initial swing and bounce on a cloudy morning at Centurion.
Kagiso Rabada, who had been on money the whole morning, tested Shreyas Iyer with his bouncers and castled him with a wobble seam nip backer. He was trying to test Virat's defense too with his variations.
Kohli was leaving well, knowing where his off stump was, and that was not a good sign for the Proteas.
The South African strike bowler was being neutralized by the genius of Kohli. But then, Rabada came up with a jaffa — a peach of a delivery.
Rabada bowled an outswinger on the good length, which angles in before curving away to the off stump, taking the outside edge of Virat Kohli, who had already committed to the original line. The nick was happily accepted by Kyle Verreyne behind the stumps.
#1 Centurion, 2018
With a pace battery of Morne Morkel, Vernon Philander, Kagiso Rabada, and Lungi Ngidi, South Africa were always going to be the favorites in this series. They won the first Test by a big margin to take the lead in the three-match series.
They won the second Test also, to seal the series, but not before Virat Kohli stood tall and made his mark.
Things were not looking bright for the visitors, as South Africa amassed 335 in the first innings, despite a top-order collapse.
Virat was batting imperiously, and it seemed like he was batting on a different surface compared to the rest of the team. To be fair, this wasn't the spiciest pitch of the series and was somewhat similar to the tracks back home.
However, the South Africans were relentless with their probing line and lenghts and Rabada tested Virat's cravings to drive. He continuously bowled on the 4th and 5th stump lines on a fuller length, but Virat was aware of the trap.
Rabada even tried to bounce him out with two fielders on the on side, but Virat had his plans ready up his sleeves. He did pull, but on every occasion, managed to keep the ball grounded.
This battle of cat and mouse kept on going, with Virat registering a memorable century, giving India a chance in the contest. By the time the veteran Morne Morkel scalped him, Virat already had 153 runs to his credit.