Batting has let us down, rues Kohli after series loss

Cape Town, Jan 14: India Test captain ViratKohli rued the batting failures in the 2-1 series loss to South Africa. He added that the team will continue to back the under-fire senior batters CheteshwarPujara and AjinkyaRahane despite their failures in the three-match series. After leading 1-0, India went on to lose the next two matches in Johannesburg and Cape Town to squander a chance of winning their first-ever Test series in South Africa.

“The batting has let us down in the last two games. We needed to step up and there’s no running away from that. Honestly, I can’t sit here and talk about what will happen in the future. That’s not for me to discuss. For that, you need to speak to selectors and ask what they have in mind because it’s not my job. We have continued to back Cheteshwar and Ajinkya because of the kind of players they are,” said Kohli in the post-match press conference after India lost the third and deciding Test by seven wickets on Friday.

“What they have done in Test cricket for India over the years and played crucial knocks in the second Test as well and saw that important partnership in the second innings, which got us to a total what we could fight for. These are the kind of performances we recognise as a team. What selectors have in mind, I can’t comment on that sitting here,” added Kohli.

Kohli admitted that the batting, including the lower-order, didn’t stand up to the occasion as a collective. After scoring 327 in the first innings at Centurion, India made scores of 174, 202, 266, 223 and 198 in the rest of the series. “When we say batting line-up, we add lower-middle order also to it. It’s not just focusing on four or five guys. It is also the responsibility of number seven and eight guys to get the runs required to be put on the board. It is a collective responsibility.”