Kohli And Jadeja Send The South Africans On A Leather Hunt

India declares its first essay at a gargantuan 601 for five and its pacers quickly remove three top-order batsmen

- Amol Karhadkar

Virat Kohli is a master at converting fifties into big hundreds. And the India captain couldn’t have asked for a better situation than his 50th Test as captain to gallop to his personal best to virtually seal the fate of the second Test — and the Freedom Series — on the second day of the game.

Thanks to Kohli’s unbeaten 254 and contrasting yet vital support by his deputy Ajinkya Rahane and allrounder Ravindra Jadeja, India declared its first essay at a gargantuan 601 for five at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium here.

Umesh Yadav then got rid of both the tired openers to leave South Africa reeling at 13 for two.

Nagging lines

India may have added 328 runs to its overnight total of 273 for three in just over 71 overs before calling curtains on the innings but the Proteas’ pace duo of Vernon Philander and Kagiso Rabada bowled nagging lines early on in the morning.

Kohli and Rahane were fortunate to have not nicked in the cordon, with Kohli’s soft hands ensuring none of his edges carried to fielders.