India SA it with a loss

There is ldquono running awayrdquo from Indiarsquos batting collapses every now and then captain Virat Kohli said on Friday after his team squandered a 10 lead and a golden opportunity to script a maiden Test series win in South AfricaBesides the battersrsquo failures Kohli listed inconsistency lack of application lapse in concentration and their inability to seize the crunch moments as reasons for the teamrsquos loss in the threematch rubber The hosts prevailed 21ldquoThe batting has to be looked into no running away from that Having collapses every now and then not a good thingrdquo Kohli said at the postmatch presentation ceremony after South Africa emerged winners by seven wickets in the seriesdeciding third Test herelsquoReally disappointingrsquoldquoNo excuses there Itrsquos really disappointing for sure We know how far wersquove come as a team That people expect us to beat South Africa in South Africa is testimony to how far wersquove come We havenrsquot done it thatrsquos the reality accept it and come back as better cricketersrdquoIndia won the seriesopener in Centurion by 113 runs but surprisingly caved in against an inexperienced South African team in the remaining two matches with their batters letting them down on more than one occasionThe target of 212 wasnrsquot a tough ask and starting the day at 101 for two young pretender Keegan Petersen 82 113 balls along with Rassie van Der Dussen 41 not out added 54 runs for the third wicket to seal the match before Temba Bavuma 32 not out helped in putting the final touches Petersen walked away with both the player of the match as well as player of the series honourslsquoNo ifs and butsrsquoKohli admitted that not being able to beat South Africa in South Africa is disappointing but he has never believed in lsquowhat ifrsquo concepts ldquoWe are certainly very disappointed as itrsquos natural part of sport specially for a team thatrsquos so driven and believe we can win anywhere in the world Having done that itrsquos even more disappointing not to get the result we wanted Thatrsquos part of sport Accept and move onrdquoBut when pointed out that the two defeats doesnrsquot really reflect the amount of fight India had put in Kohli said ldquoThatrsquos part of sport I canrsquot say what would have happened if this would have happened or that would have happened Itrsquos a fact that we lost 12 those balls didnrsquot take edges and didnrsquot come to slipsldquoSo ifs and buts have no place in sport as itrsquos such a beautiful thing that you play one moment at a time and when that moment passes away therersquos no point thinking about it as there are more and more moments that follow and you have to make sure that you stay in present and capitalise on all those moments individuallyrdquoKohli backs Rahane and Pujara but puts ball in selectorsrsquo courtA crestfallen India captain Virat Kohlirsquos defence of Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane lacked conviction as he put the ball on the selection committeersquos court with regards to the future of the two outofform senior battersPujara and Rahane failed in five out of six knocks and havenrsquot made any tangible contribution throughout the year ldquoI cannot sit here and talk about whatrsquos gonna happen in the future Thatrsquos not for me to sit here and discuss You probably have to speak to the selectors what they have in mind This is not my jobrdquo a jaded Kohli said in the virtual press conferenceldquoAs I have said before I will say again we will continue to back Cheteshwar and Ajinkya because of the kind of players they are what they have done in Test cricket for India over the years playing crucial knock in the second innings in Johannesburg as well These are kind of performances we recognise as a teamrdquo Kohli added2No of Test series Virat Kohli has lost in South Africa as Team Indiarsquos captainThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever