Former South Africa pacer Dale Steyn has revealed the conversation he had with India’s star batter Virat Kohli ahead of the ODI series against South Africa and how the former skipper keeps himself game ready despite just playing one format.
“I actually saw him last night at dinner. I had a chat with him and asked him ‘What do you do, because you play just one format?’, and he said, ‘I live in London now’. He has great facilities at Lord’s, at Surrey, and he goes to practice too. There’s a trainer he works with. I can’t remember. But he’s always well prepared. When you look at him, he’s in tip-top condition all the time, mentally he is super strong. He’s played the game for so long – 51 ODI hundreds before this one. So he’s well aware of his game; how he goes about scoring his runs. He comes in, joins the team, and is fully committed. And then you see such kind of performances. That is what true professionals do,” Steyn told the host broadcaster.
Virat Kohli unleashed a fine batting display and broke records once again after he notched up yet another international century during the first ODI against South Africa in Ranchi on Sunday. The right-hander struck his 52nd ODI ton.
The home side posted a massive 349/8 in 50 overs, courtesy Kohli’s hundred, fifties from opener Rohit Sharma and stand-in captain KL Rahul and a late surge from Ravindra Jadeja. In reply, the Indian pacers also unveiled a brilliant bowling display picking up early wickets.
But Matthew Breetzke, Marco Jansen and Corbin Bosch tried to steady the ship as the three batters chipped in with some quick runs but their efforts weren’t enough as South Africa were bowled out for 332 and lost the match by 17 runs. The two sides will now play the second match in Raipur on Wednesday.
While Team India will look to take an unassailable lead, the Proteas will try to make a comeback and take the series into the decider scheduled for Saturday in Visakhapatnam.
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