Bengaluru: India captain Virat Kohli is disappointed his side missed the chance to take a 2-0 lead in the four-Test series against South Africa when the second match ended in a draw on Wednesday after four consecutive days of play lost due to rain.
“It was very disappointing,” Kohli said. “Especially the second and third days were frustrating because we had a very good first day. The toughest task is to set up a test match and we had done that.”
India, who won the first Test at Mohali by 108 runs, dismissed South Africa for 214 runs in the second Test and reached 80 without loss at the end of the first day. But rain washed out the remaining days.
The final day’s play was called off after an inspection at 11.30am local time with several sections of the outfield still wet from the continuous rain during this Test match, as well as from the preceding week.
Kohli said his team were on their way to taking control against Test cricket’s top side, who have not lost an away series in nine years.
“We bowled the No. 1 side in under three sessions on a good pitch,” he said. “We were positive that even if we got play on the fourth and fifth days, we had a good chance of putting South Africa under more pressure. The momentum is still with us.”
South Africa captain Hashim Amla felt his team had a lot of time to get back in the match.
“Test matches are not always won on the first day,” Amla said. “There was a lot of time left for us to claw our way back into the game. You never know what could have happened, but it wasn’t meant to be.”
Despite the loss of playing time, Kohli was happy with Shikhar Dhawan’s unbeaten 45 an unbroken opening stand in Bengaluru after the left-hander had a pair of ducks at Mohali.
“Shikhar is an impact player. I’m delighted that he has been feeling good about his batting because he can take the match away quickly. We need to give players like him confidence,” he said.
Amla was happy with AB de Villiers knock of 85 in his 100th Test, but hoped more batsmen clicked in the third Test starting at Nagpur starting next Wednesday.
“We just didn’t get going with any partnerships,” he said. “AB was exceptional as always. Unfortunately, no one stuck around with him long enough to post a big total. It will be great for us to get some confidence under our belts, not having successful batting stints as yet.”
Amla said he would be happy if his batsmen played positively even on pitches aiding turn.
“If the guys get out playing positive shots I am happy. Because at least they’re trying to take the game forward and they’re trying to score runs. That’s the name of the game,” he said.
Amla said the fitness of pace bowler Dale Steyn had yet to be assessed after he was forced to miss the second Test with a groin strain.
South Africa won a preceding five-game One Day International series 3-2 and a three-game Twenty20 series 2-0.
