ICC Cricket Hall of Famers Sunil Gavaskar and Graeme Pollock presented the ICC Test Championship mace to India captain Virat Kohli at the Newlands Stadium in Cape Town after the end of the third and final T20I against South Africa.
India have ensured the number one spot on the ICC Test Team Rankings and a prize of USD 1 million after their victory in the third and final Test at Johannesburg against South Africa in January. The win had ensured that no team can move ahead of India in the Test rankings at the 3 April cut-off date.
Pollock was delighted to meet Virat Kohli and he lauded the Indian skipper, saying he was glad to handover the mace.
"He is a wonderful guy and cricket sure needs people like him to be admired and respected. Kohli has done a tremendous job for India and his focus is simply outstanding. I just love the way he bats. Clearly, he's the best player in the world and I was very glad to handover the mace to a tremendous player," Pollock told mid-day.
"It was wonderful to watch India and the way they won in the Johannesburg Test and the limited overs series in South Africa. They dominated SA and deserve their success." Pollock was disappointed to see South Africa crumble in the Durban Test against Australia in first Test.
The former South Africa cricketer had praised Indian team for not criticizing the pitch after losing Test series in South Africa. Tourist teams often complain about unfair pitches after the loss. However, India didn't follow the trend and fought back in the final Test to avoid a whitewash.
“It was a wonderful gesture by the Indian team that they did not complain about the surfaces here. When a game ends in three or four days, you tend to say that probably something is wrong with the wicket. It was a very fine gesture by Virat Kohli and India by not criticising the wickets. I can remember when India would win a Test in two, three or four days, there were a lot of complaints about the turning wickets. Not to have criticism here was a very fine exhibition of sportsmanship,” Pollock had told Mirror.
