Why Virat Kohli's captaincy might tilt the series in India's favour
After a brilliant display of competitive, tight spin-bowling, India comprehensively emerged victorious in the first Paytm Test encounter on a dustbowl Mohali, which left not only the inexperienced South Africans but even most Indian batters, quite flummoxed. Though much of the credit for the hosts victory were attributed to the turning pitch, one shouldn’t overlook the fact that Virat Kohli knows how to captain in Test cricket, especially on home turf.
Considering that South Africa were without their experienced middle-order southpaw JP Duminy and their lanky speedster Morne Morkel, India might have come in slight favourites but from the way Hashim Amla and Du Plessis got out at Mohali, it is safe to assume that neither of them would have had much effect on the game. Kohli’s proactive captaincy was always pleasant to the eye.
Speculations have been rife regarding the productivity of Kohli’s forward-thinking, aggressive captaincy. However, the Mohali Test witnessed a mature Kohli shifting his bowlers as per the situation. It seemed India has a clear methodical strategery before the game and their commander-in-chief knew exactly when to pull the trigger and grasp the moment.
In the Proteas first innings, Kohli made his intentions clear working his left and right-arm spinners in tandem which brought the early break-through. Though Amla and De Villiers consolidated in the middle phase, soon after the former's dismissal, Kohli ensured that the run-scoring was tightened. Though De Villiers looked menacing while Dane Vilas and Simon Harmer got into twenty-odd runs partnership, Kohli ensured that the Proteas were never let off the hook.
Kohli’s batting in the second innings deserves a mention. His wicket soon after Vijay’s dismissal might have heralded a tailwind in the Indian batting but the long 66-run stand between Kohli and Pujara was the defining moment as after that India were in the hot seat to seal victory despite the low target.
His decision to send in Mishra before Ashwin might have drawn some criticism, however, we should not forget that it was this move that gave Ashwin an extra cushion and allowed him to play a useful knock in India’s 201, which ultimately gave India the first innings lead. That shows the quality of the skipper – not only does he think out of the box but he also thinks prudently.
In the Proteas second innings, Kohli continued to showcase his true captaincy calibre in the way in which he manoeuvred his spinners; Ashwin was brought on to strangle Elgar while Jadeja to take the game to the right-handers. Mishra’s introduction also had a purpose – to dismiss De Villiers, which he did promptly.
However, the brightest facet in the game to me was when Varun Aaron was brought in to attack all-delivery blocking Dean Elgar, who was surviving despite living on the edge.That was a splendid move which dissipated any chance of a South African comeback and the rest was all methodical and appropriately implemented.
Kohli is surely growing in confidence after landing his third win on the trot after a topsy-turvy start to his captaincy stint in Australia. He seems to get the right squad and right playing XI every time now they take the field. The players seem to buy into his crafty tactics and respond well when they are given responsibilities.
He silenced many critics after staging a tremendous fightback in Srilanka, in his first full-fledged tour as Test skipper and now this home win after a disappointing one-day series might just turn out to be the turning point as far as India is concerned. This is only the second time South Africa has lost the opening encounter on an away tour (in the last half a decade) and as things stand, Kohli is well prepared to do what is best for business.
Many expect the Bangalore turf to be batting oriented. Nevertheless, considering how shrewd the Indian skipper is, the Chinnaswamy Stadium might come in handy for the spinners as well. As far as Kohli is concerned, he would be looking for another win before preparing flat, batting-suited pitches to seal a series win. For the Proteas, the odds are against them as they really find themselves in somewhat unknown territory which perhaps hand the initiative to Kohli and Co.