SA vs IND: Top five talking points from the tour

It is true to an extent, that South Africa have performed above their expectations and India have themselves to blame for the downfall after the first Test. India had their chances, but failed to capitalise on the important moments and paid the price for it with the cost of both Test and ODI series. Meanwhile, here are 5 talking points from the India tour of South Africa.

1. Kohli rages on Stump Mic

South Africa had started the final innings chase at Newlands in an excellent manner with Dean Elgar and Keegan Petersen stepping up again. Elgar missed a straighter delivery from R Ashwin and was given out by the on-field umpire until the DRS came into play.

 The ball-tracking showed that the delivery was going above the stumps despite hitting below in the pads of Elgar. In frustration, captain Kohli lost his cool and spilt a lot of words on the poor DRS system in the stump mic between overs. He even referred to the Sandpaper gate incident when the Australian side was caught on camera in 2018 and it certainly went above the line.

2. Continuous backing of out of form Rahane-Pujara

Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara were definitely under the scanner while coming into the Test tour of South Africa and their places had been under a lot of talk. However, the management continued to back them for the three Tests, and they failed again.

In fact, each of these players managed to score a single fifty in six innings and averaged in the 20s. India is expected to make changes for the upcoming home Test series against Sri Lanka and it will mean that Rahane and Pujara’s long rope of inconsistency will finally come to an end.

3. Rishabh Pant showing signs of inconsistency

Rishabh Pant was the first-choice wicketkeeper for India in the Tests and he had a big role to play as the number six batter. However, he made a lot of blunder mistakes including poor shot selections.

He earned a lot of criticism in the second test after giving himself no time to get used to the pitch and for going after the bowler’s straightaway. He showed some intent in the final Test with a splendid century but again showed inconsistency in the ODI series, especially in the third game where he played a rash shot on his first ball.

4. Virat Kohli gives up Test captaincy

Virat Kohli came up with a sudden decision of giving up Test captaincy after the loss to South Africa and it shocked a lot of fans and the experts. His love for the longer format is unmatched and he has been the most successful Indian Test captain with 40 wins in 58 Tests. However, there have been a lot of issues that have been surrounding his personal form and his sacking as ODI captain which would have eventually led to the decision.

5. KL Rahul loses four in a row as captain

It certainly hasn’t been the best of starts for KL Rahul as the captain of India as he lost four games in a row now. His own form has been scattered to an extent and could manage just one fifty in the three-match ODI series. His inexperience in the captaincy role has been a concern for India and it will be interesting to see if he still gets the nod as vice-captain once the regular skipper Rohit Sharma returns.