In 2010, a young Virat Kohli was playing South Africa for only the third time in his career as a senior. In a series dominated by legendary Sachin Tendulkar, Kohli finished with a fifty. Thirteen years later, when Kohli walks out to bat against South Africa in the 2023 ICC World Cup match against South Africa, that half-century will serve only as a footnote in his illustrious career.
Virat Kohli is shattering records not just on the field but also scorching off the field. The LA 2028 Olympics Sports Director even went on to say: “Virat Kohli has 340 million social media followers, making him the third most followed athlete, surpassing the combined numbers of LeBron, Tom Brady, and Woods.” So, it doesn’t come as a surprise there is hysteria surrounding the mega-star’s 35th birthday.
Amid all the plans for his birthday celebrations, Kohli was back to perfecting the art of repetition. He headed straight to nets on Saturday, putting his skills to test against net bowlers. One of them was a left-arm pace bowler and the other a left-arm spinner. Incidentally, South Africa’s bowling quiver possesses a 6’8″ left-arm paceman and a left-arm spinner.
The South Africa-India contest isn’t just about Kohli and his birthday though. There are enough sub-plots on view. India and South Africa have come across as the two strongest sides in the competition. Both of them have potent bowling attacks at their disposal. There is a sub-plot within it — India’s skillful pacers going up against South Africa’s battery of tall fast bowlers. South Africa also have an enviable batting line-up. And India have the required ammunition to match them.
So, who will blink first? If South Africa win the toss and bat first, will they again post a monstrous total? In the backdrop of Hardik Pandya being ruled out of the rest of the World Cup, is there a small chink in India’s armour? Will Suryakumar Yadav’s ability to target boundaries square on both sides of the wicket help him to tackle South Africa’s spin duo?
Time and Venue Details
November 5, 2023, 14:00 IST, Eden Gardens
Expected conditions
In the two games played at the ground, the tracks have offered variable bounce and turn for the spinners. There has been a hint of nip, too, for the pace bowlers in the second innings. There could be some dew on offer in the night. The sun sets early in Kolkata.
Possible XIs
India
The hosts are set to continue with the winning combination.
Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj
South Africa
On the other hand, South Africa might end picking Tabraiz Shamsi, with the wrist-spinner partnering Maharaj.
Quinton de Kock (wk), Temba Bavuma (c), Rassie van der Dussen, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Heinrich Klaasen, Marco Jansen, Kagiso Rabada, Gerald Coetzee, Keshav Maharaj, Lungi Ngidi/Tabriaz Shamsi
Matchup
Virat Kohli v Marco Jansen. The Indian superstar has had his issues with left-arm pace bowlers in the past. He has also fallen a few times to the short ball while attempting the pull. Jansen, his opponent, gets natural bounce from his high release, supplemented by the left-arm angle.
Teams speak
“It is a contest between two teams that are playing very good cricket. Whether they [South Africa] are the toughest or not, I think there are three or four other good teams in this tournament as well. Maybe some of them haven’t clicked as well as they would have liked to, or they have had a tough run. But South Africa certainly have been playing very well,” said Rahul Dravid, India’s head coach.
“You got two teams who are in form, coming up against each other and I think it’s just a matter of who breaks first and who’s able to I guess, exploit that moment or that weakness. We understand that there will be pressure moments within the World Cup, moments that we’ve overcome to get to this point, and there will still be more. We’ll deal with them as best as we can,” said Temba Bavuma, the South African skipper.