Virat Kohli, the renowned Indian batsman, stands as the sole India captain to have emerged victorious in a Test match in SENA countries, as India suffered a significant loss against South Africa in the Boxing Day Test.
INDIA BATTING R B 4s 6s S/R
Yashasvi Jaiswal c Kyle Verreynne b Nandre Burger 5 18 1 0 27.77
Rohit Sharma (c) b Kagiso Rabada 0 8 0 0 0
Shubman Gill b Marco Jansen 26 37 6 0 70.27
Virat Kohli c Kagiso Rabada b Marco Jansen 76 82 12 1 92.68
Shreyas Iyer b Marco Jansen 6 12 1 0 50
KL Rahul (wk) c Aiden Markram b Nandre Burger 4 24 1 0 16.66
Ravichandran Ashwin c David Bedingham b Nandre Burger 0 1 0 0 0
Shardul Thakur c David Bedingham b Kagiso Rabada 2 8 0 0 25
Jasprit Bumrah run out (Dean Elgar / Kagiso Rabada) 0 5 0 0 0
Mohammed Siraj c Kyle Verreynne b Nandre Burger 4 5 1 0 80
Prasidh Krishna not out 0 5 0 0 0
Extras: 8 runs (B: 0, LB: 2, WD: 6, NB: 0, P: 0)131 (34.1)
FALL OF WICKETS
5/1 ( R. Sharma 2.5 Overs) , 13/2 ( Y. Jaiswal 5.3 Overs) , 52/3 ( S. Gill 14 Overs) , 72/4 ( S. Iyer 17.5 Overs) , 96/5 ( KL Rahul 25.5 Overs) , 96/6 ( R. Ashwin 26 Overs) , 105/7 ( S. Thakur 28.3 Overs) , 113/8 ( J. Bumrah 30.2 Overs) , 121/9 ( M. Siraj 31.5 Overs) , 131/10 ( V. Kohli 34.1 Overs)
SOUTH AFRICA BOWLING O M R W NB WD E/R
Kagiso Rabada 12 3
In summary, Virat Kohli is the most recent India captain to secure a Test victory in SENA countries. However, South Africa emerged victorious in the first Test of the two-match series against India, defeating them by an innings and 32 runs. The match concluded with India being bowled out for a mere 131 runs on Day 3.
India’s victory ensured that they were unable to conquer their ultimate challenge in Test cricket. Throughout the years, India has made numerous attempts to win a bilateral Test series on South African soil, but unfortunately, they have been unsuccessful on all eight occasions since 1992.
Kohli, indeed, emerged as the final Indian captain to secure a victory in a Test match within the SENA nations. SENA, an acronym for South Africa, England, New Zealand, and Australia, represents the countries where this triumph was achieved. The most recent instance of India’s success in a Test match within the SENA countries occurred during the Boxing Day Test in 2021 against South Africa, where they emerged victorious.
Notably, India triumphed over South Africa by a margin of 113 runs in Centurion, precisely two years ago. However, Kohli’s captaincy journey faced a setback as they suffered a defeat in the subsequent match at the Wanderers Stadium, prompting him to step down from his role as India’s Test captain.
KL Rahul assumed the role of captain for the final match of the series, which South Africa emerged victorious in by a margin of 7 wickets.
Following that, India competed against England in a solitary Test at Edgbaston, with Jasprit Bumrah leading the team. Unfortunately, the hosts handed India a defeat by 7 wickets, resulting in a 2-2 tie in the five-match series. The initial four matches of the series were played in 2021 under the captaincy of Kohli.
Subsequently, India confronted Australia in the World Test Championship final, with Rohit Sharma as the captain. Despite having triumphed over Australia in the Border-Gavaskar series a few months earlier, India suffered a defeat by a margin of 209 runs, marking their second consecutive loss in the WTC Final.
Here are the results of India’s away Test matches since Kohli relinquished the captaincy:
SA vs IND: South Africa defeated India by 7 wickets at Newlands.
ENG vs IND: England defeated India by 7 wickets at Edgbaston.
AUS vs IND: Australia defeated India by 207 runs at Kennington Oval.
India will aim to even the two-match series at the Wanderers Stadium after their defeat in Centurion. It is worth noting that India has never emerged victorious in a Test match at this particular venue.