The first Test between South Africa and India began in Centurion on December 26.
South African cricket legend Allan Donald predicted that Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma will give their all in the two-match Test series against South Africa, as he believes this might be their last tour of the rainbow nation.
Donald further said that Kohli and Rohit would be eager to make a strong impact in the Test series and show their prowess against South Africa, considering the uncertainty about their future tours. According to Donald, the senior Indian batters might want to leave a lasting impression this time.
Allan Donald was quoted as saying by RevSportz: “They will be motivated to come and make a statement here in South Africa. Virat, I know how his mind works, having spent time with him at RCB, there is no doubt in my mind that he would come here to go all out.”
He added, “If this is their last tour of South Africa, and no one knows, then I think that they will want to come here and ram it down the throats of South African cricket so it needs no motivation.”
The former RCB coach also predicted that this time South Africa would find it tough to outsmart Team India in the Test series, as the tourists have the highly motivated Kohli and Rohit.
Explaining his point of view, Donald said: “Virat is a highly motivated guy anyway. But no, those two guys will be coming here, if it is their last tour of South Africa, to go out with a massive bang. The fans in South Africa, the Indian support that they will get…there are a lot of South Africans who are fans of those two watching them in the IPL and World Cups.”
He signed off by saying, “There’s no doubt that the threat will come from those two, the leadership will come from those two. I think it’ll be fun to watch. Those guys are absolute legends of the game. The legends of Indian cricket. They will come here with one statement in mind – to go after South Africa. That’s the mindset anyway. That’s how they work. That’s where their greatness lies. Absolute professional attitude and mindset will take over.”
(With RevSportz Inputs)