In a flash of brilliance, Virat Kohli catches his 100th ball

Kohli is the newest member of the select club of six, which includes Rahul Dravid, who leads the way with 209 catches in 163 Tests.

The long delivery from Mohammed Shami to Temba Bavuma curved a little. The outer edge of Bavuma’s bat sailed to Virat Kohli’s left at second slip. Expectedly, the India captain’s reaction time was short, and he had to dive full-length. With both hands, he snatched it.

Kohli reached a major milestone with the catch, as it was his 100th in Test cricket. Kohli is the newest member of the select club of six, which includes Rahul Dravid, who leads the way with 209 catches in 163 Tests. Sunil Gavaskar, Mohammed Azharuddin, Sachin Tendulkar, and VVS Laxman are among the other legends. Ajinkya Rahane has 99 catches in 82 Tests at the time.

In terms of the current game, aside from the personal milestone, Kohli’s catch provided his team with a much-needed moment of inspiration.

The second Test at Wanderers demonstrated how the Indian players had given up when Dean Elgar and his team were chasing a victory. Nobody tried to take the aggression to the South African skipper while Kohli was out injured.

Keegan Petersen and Bavuma had settled in comfortably in Cape Town on Wednesday, guiding the Proteas to India’s first innings total of 223. For the fifth wicket, 47 runs were scored. The second new ball was still 25 overs away, and India had already given Bavuma a reprieve with a missed catch at first slip by Cheteshwar Pujara.

It worked by bringing Shami back with the breeze around 40 minutes before the tea break. The bowler had just ended his previous spell a few minutes ago. It was a scorching day, and the pacers had already covered a lot of ground. However, the lure of going all out before a break provided Shami with the necessary drive. India got off to a fast start, taking two wickets in three deliveries to take a 13-run first-innings lead. The skipper kept his bowlers pumped up the entire time, encouraging the reserve players to amp up the ground noise from the dugout as well. Kohli enjoys interacting with the crowd when he’s on a roll. He turned to his teammates in a closed-doors game.

Kohli’s captaincy in the Test series against England last summer had a big influence. His ability to lead came to the fore once more at Newlands today.