Team India is on the brink of a series defeat to South Africa after a major batting collapse in the second Test, highlighting the gap left by Virat Kohli, whose leadership and crisis-management skills are sorely missed in the current lineup
Team India is currently staring at either a series defeat or a whitewash at the hands of South Africa, as the hosts have been left in a reeling position following a batting collapse on Day 3 of the ongoing second and final Test at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati on Monday, November 4.
Following a defeat in the first Test at Eden Gardens Stadium in Kolkata, Team India once again found themselves on the back foot as another top and middle order collapse allowed South Africa to seize full control of the match. At one stage, India were 65/1 before they collapsed to 122/7, losing six wickets in just 57 runs. However, Washington Sundar and Kuldeep Yadav offered brief resistance, but their 72-run partnership was not enough to prevent South Africa from tightening their grip on the match.
Having lost the series opener in Kolkata, which marked the first defeat to South Africa at home in 15 years, India now find themselves under severe pressure to salvage pride, with their batting frailties repeatedly exposed throughout the series.
Is India Missing ,Virat Kohli,?
Amid criticism around India’s batting collapse, which put them on the brink of a second Test defeat and a series whitewash, Virat Kohli’s absence has emerged as a talking point. Virat Kohli bid adieu to his illustrious Test career ahead of the England tour earlier this year, pulling the curtains down on red-ball cricket after 14 years and 123 matches.
Virat Kohli’s presence at No.4 served as the backbone of India’s batting lineup for over a decade, offering the temperament and crisis management skills that India’s current middle order has struggled to replicate in pressure situations. Having scored over 7500 runs at an average of 50.09, the former India captain often rescued the team from tricky situations, and his absence has left without a proven crisis-solver in the middle order.
As skipper, Virat Kohli not only set batting standards but also relentlessly instilled a winning mentality among his players in the Test side, a mindset that often lifted India out of pressure situations and inspired the dressing room to respond with resilience and intent. Having led India to 40 Test wins in 60 outings with a win percentage of 58.82, he remains the country’s most successful Test captain.
Given the shuffle in the batting order in the ongoing Test series against South Africa, India have struggled to find a dependable figure who could anchor the team’s innings and guide the team through difficult phases in Kohli’s absence.
‘Test Cricket Misses Virat Kohli’
Former Karnataka and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) wicketkeeper-batter Shreevats Goswami believes that Virat Kohli should have retired from ODIs rather than Tests, stating that the team is missing his energy and passion that defined Kohli’s era in the longest format of the game.
“Ideally Virat should have left playing ODIs & continued playing test cricket until he had nothing to give. Test cricket misses him. Not just as a player but just the energy he brought, the love & passion playing for 🇮🇳 where he made the team believe that they can win in any condition,” Shreevats Goswami wrote on X.
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Shreevats Goswami’s comments stem from India’s Test series whitewash at the hands of New Zealand at home and the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series defeat to Australia Down Under. Now, India are currently staring at another series defeat or whitewash against South Africa at home, intensifying the scrutiny on the team’s transition phase and raising questions about whether India have prepared for life after Kohli in the longest format.
Under Gautam Gambhir as head coach, Team India has managed to win only two Test series in over a year, highlighting the growing inconsistency in the red-ball setup.