"Not interested in making a controversy" - Virat Kohli on DRS issue after 3rd India vs South Africa Test
Virat Kohli denied commenting on the DRS controversy that unfolded on Day 3 of India's third Test against South Africa. The visitors ended up losing the game by seven wickets, with the Proteas clinching the series by a 2-1 margin. The Indian skipper argued that spectators "don't know the exact details" of the incident, adding that he wasn't "interested in making a controversy" out of it.
Ravichandran Ashwin got South African captain Dean Elgar trapped lbw for 22 on Thursday, but Hawk-Eye overturned the on-field call, showing that the ball was going over the stumps. Unhappy with the reversal, Kohli and co. expressed their frustration via the stump-mics, with some explicitly targeting the host broadcaster SuperSport.
In the post-match presser, Kohli was asked whether Indian players don't trust the technology and if they got carried away in their reaction to the decision. He replied:
"I have no comment to make on either. We understood what happened on the field and people on the outside don't know exact details of what goes on on the field. So for me to try and justify what we did on the field and say we got carried away is all... if we had got charged up and picked up three wickets there, that would have probably been the moment that changed the game."
Kohli also admitted India's faults were the "reality of the situation", saying they failed to apply enough pressure on the opposition. He added:
"The reality of the situation is that we did not apply enough pressure on them for longer periods of time throughout the course of the Test match and hence we lost the game. That one moment seems very nice and very exciting to make a controversy out of which, honestly, I am not interested in making a controversy of it at all. It was just a moment that passed and we moved on from it and we just kept focussing on the game and tried to pick up wickets."
Notably, Hawk-Eye is an independent body working under the ICC and without any direct influence of the broadcasters. And while Elgar was eventually dismissed for 30, the earlier reversal didn't make much of a difference as his team won the match comfortably.
When asked if the 2-1 scoreline justifies India's efforts because the visitors were unfortunate at some crucial points, Kohli reiterated that luck is part of the sport and "ifs and buts" don't matter. The Indian skipper explained:
"Again, that's part of the sport. I can't sit here and say what if this had happened or what if that had happened. The reality of the situation is that we have lost 2-1. Those balls did not take the edges and did not come to the slip cordon. Ifs and buts have no place in sport because it's such an amazing thing to be a part of where you are just playing one moment at a time... I am not going to think about the things that could have gone our way because if they had gone our way, they would have."
South Africa win the final Test by 7 wickets and clinch the series 2-1.
#SAvIND https://t.co/r3pGCbbaTx
The hosts had comprehensively lost the first Test, but did remarkably well to come back with identical dominating wins in the next two. With this, they also maintained their unbeaten record of not losing a home Test series against India.
"If we had more runs, we would have been able to put more pressure" - Virat Kohli
. No clear indication about the future though.Kohli about Pujara-Rahane 👇. No clear indication about the future though.
https://t.co/O6QyJ43gct
Kohli also calmly denied that his injury before the second Test was the "turning point" of the series. Instead, he attributed the defeat to the batters' failure to put enough runs on the board.
The skipper concluded by saying:
"No, if I could have won us the second Test then I also played the third so we should have one this, no? (smiles) There's no such guarantee and niggles and injuries are a part of the sport. But turning point - I can't narrow it down to one moment. All I can say is that South Africa played really well to win both the matches and the fact that they had a chaseable total in the fourth innings probably helped them. In my view, perhaps if we had more runs there in both matches we would have been able to put more pressure for longer periods of time."
India and South Africa will now clash in the three-match ODI series, beginning on January 19.