"Missed the energy of Virat Kohli" - Twitterati trolls KL Rahul and co. after disappointing defeat in 2nd India vs South Africa Test

Twitterati expresses disappointment at the thumping at Wanderers.

Fans on Twitter reacted sharply to India's seven-wicket thumping at the hands of South Africa in the second Test at Wanderers. Chasing 240 in the final innings, host captain Dean Elgar scored a magnificent unbeaten 96 (188), Rassie van der Dussen contributed 40 and Temba Bavuma 23* to take South Africa home in the final session of Day 4.

India were a step behind since the start of the day, with Mohammed Siraj not 100 percent fit and a pitch that was supposed to get tough for batting eased out after being under the covers for two sessions. Jasprit Bumrah (0-70) struggled for consistency, and although Mohammed Shami (1-55) and Shardul Thakur (1-37) were relentless in their efforts, they didn't get the rewards. The South African batters, meanwhile, were simply brilliant.

But all Indian players were equally chastised on Twitter. While some trolled the bowlers, some criticized stand-in captain KL Rahul, expressing their longing for Virat Kohli, who missed the Test due to injury. Others appreciated South Africa's effort and got themselves ready for a perfectly poised series decider.

Here are the best Twitter reactions of the lot:

They played well but we could have done better! #INDvsSA

Seen a few over time, but that is One of SA crickets greatest test wins! #INDvsSA #Proteas

India did miss the energy of Virat Kohli, the Test Captain twitter.com/vikrantgupta73…

That is a serious, serious chase - against that attack, on that surface. #SAvIND

1-1 and the last one with all to play for. Will be intense from what we have seen and I will back India for their ability to turn things around. #INDvsSA and hoping Virat is back for the decider.

One innings where the bowlers are off-colour and India suddenly look a lesser team. Shows how much they have carried the team through 2021.

Superbly done by Elgar. He can sometimes make batting look a laborious pursuit but he's worth his weight in gold.

These people who are trolling KL Rahul today once wanted him to be India's White ball Captain instead of Rohit Sharma .

After Virat Kohli's retirement whenever our team will struggle in sena conditions, then we will always miss him just like this match, he is just irreplaceable, you can hate him, you can abuse him, but when he leaves you wouldn't fill his place again.

Ajinkya Rahane's niggle loading...

#TeamIndia Missed @imVkohli, The Captain In This Test. 👍🏼 #SAvIND

Bumrah when you need him most https://t.co/lVvtyx7D1N

Virat fans who wanted Kl Rahul to be Captain instead of Rohit
Right now -
#INDvSA https://t.co/g3CIX1uL3L

So guess Siraj injured... Cricketers especially sub continental cricketers should stop being macho if you feel slightest niggle you should not get on to field no point when you are not 100% fit coming to field either you are making injury big or spoiling stats playing not fit.

Siraj's injury was a big blow..Could have hit the pitch better

Yup. I think knowing not enough of Siraj meant they all tried too hard and SA didn't miss out on any bad balls and raced away to make the Indians more desperate. twitter.com/Oam_16/status/…

Shami, Bumrah & Siraj in the second innings: 40 overs, 162 runs, 1 wicket.

Bowling friendly conditions, last innings of a Test match, against the most inexperienced SA batting line-up.

India have produced some of the worst bowlers ever in cricketing history.

#Cricket | #SAvIND

@OfficialCSA Bumrah in this match. https://t.co/IHqi7PpTPG

Feel bad for Thakur. But look forward to India bouncing back in the next Test. Pretty sure we are going to see a Bumrah special in the next match. And hopefully, a big Kohli knock is also around the corner. Excited about Umesh Yadav playing his first Test in South Africa.

Whenever Bumrah performs team mostly wins, When he don't perform team mostly lose. His performance impacts the match result.

Sometimes you just have to doff off your hat and say well played. Huge respect for Elgar. Was stranded on 86* as SA lost from a winning position at Joburg last time. This time gets his team home. Really admire his 'over my dead body' attitude. Take a bow Elgar and SA 🙌🏻 #SAvIND https://t.co/opjqpGF5fG

South Africa won that Test because conditions got easier with each innings, they batted well in the fourth innings & had a decent share of luck (false shots per wicket); not because India bowled badly (they actually bowled better than SA in both innings). #SAvIND https://t.co/sNKBbun9it

@BCCI Major diff. between both the teams:-

1) Dean Elgar
2) Pant's pathetic batting
3) Siraj's injury
4) Poor captaincy by Rahul

@BCCI *silent tweet* https://t.co/OjkmngKR6a

@BCCI This was about to happen, you can't always remain dependent on bowlers, yes 20 wickets is needed to win a test match but it's been more than a year no single big knock from our 3,4,5 excluding Shreyas. They might be scoring few 50s but we lost the match in the 1st innings itself.

@BCCI Rahane should be our first choice captain when Virat isn't there,
KL Rahul is not a captaincy material especially in tests

@BCCI The + point of India were Batting but nowadays we have improved a lot in our bowling but our + point has become our weakness...need to look Hard to get the much awaited series win in RSA🤞🔥💙
Many congratulations to South Africa 🇿🇦 Well played...A deserving Win👍👌

"We'll be hungrier after this disappointing loss" - India's KL Rahul

Speaking after the Test, KL Rahul said his opponents deserved the win, adding that his team would only be "hungrier" to come up first in the final Test.

Rahul said:

"Every Test match we play, we want to win, we go out there and compete hard, but South Africa played really well and deserved this victory. We were looking to get on the field today, try and do something special, 122 to get, the pitch was playing up and down, we had a good chance, but their batters played really well."

He added:

"We expected this when we came here, every Test will be competitive and challenging, we'll be hungrier after this disappointing loss. Looking forward to Cape Town and the third Test."

The final Test will start on January 11 at Newlands, Cape Town.