After India’s historic 5-1 win in South Africa in the six-match One Day International (ODI) series against South Africa, Indian skipper Virat Kohli was labelled as the ‘best batsman’ in the world by head coach Ravi Shastri.
While talking about the three-match T20I series, Virat said: “The tour is not over.”
The opening match of the T20I series will be played at the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg on Sunday.
After their debacle in the three-match Test series that India lost 2-1, Virat led his team to win the ODI series 5-1.
“That is the frame of mind we are in and we are looking forward to the T20s now,” he said.
In the recently concluded series, Virat scored 558 runs with an average of 186. While talking about his performance, head coach Ravi Shastri called him the best player in the world.
“I’ve seen him batting across all conditions, all formats. It’s not just averages, it’s the way you get runs, when you get it and then to back those runs up on what the team does. I would safely say he is the best batsman in the world,” Ravi Shastri said.
At a post-match conference when Virat was asked whether he considered himself as the best he said, “I am not competing with anyone. I only look to help my team. If you are thinking about the team special things happen.”
“If you are thinking about being ahead of someone else, you’ll be found out very soon by this game.”
After India’s defeat in two Tests, Virat along with India’s team management was heavily criticised because of India’s playing eleven.
Talking about Test loss, Virat said that the team had pledged not to take “a backward step”.
Virat Kohli credited India’s win in the third Test as the turning point.
“We have created momentum which has lasted until now. It’s with us and we have to make the most of it, even until the last day of the tour.”
Squads:
South Africa
JP Duminy (captain), Farhaan Behardien, Junior Dala, AB de Villiers, Reeza Hendricks, Christiaan Jonker, Heinrich Klaasen (wkt), David Miller, Chris Morris, Dane Paterson, Aaron Phangiso, Andile Phehlukwayo, Tabraiz Shamsi, Jon-Jon Smuts
India
Virat Kohli (captain), Rohit Sharma (vice-captain), Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal, Shikhar Dhawan, MS Dhoni (wkt), Dinesh Karthik (wkt), Kuldeep Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Manish Pandey, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Lokesh Rahul, Suresh Raina, Shardul Thakur, Jaydev Unadkat
Fixtures of three match T20I:
March 1, Johannesburg – 14:30
March 2, Centurion – 18:00
March 3, Cape Town – 18:00