Sunil Gavaskar pinpoints reason why India suffered defeat in 3rd Test, blames Virat Kohli

Former Indian cricketer Sunil Gavaskar on Friday slammed Virat Kohli and his poor captaincy during the third Test match against South Africa. Gavaskar, while speaking on Star Sports, said the field placements during Ravichandran Ashwin's bowling were not right as there were singles available easily. Gavaskar further added that he still doesn't understand why Shardul Thakur and Jasprit Bumrah did not bowl after lunch. Kohli asked Ashwin and Umesh Yadav to bowl immediately after lunch on Day 4 of the third Test match. 

“It was a mystery to me why Shardul Thakur and Jasprit Bumrah did not bowl after lunch. It was almost as if India had decided that they are not going to win this. The field placements there were for Ashwin were not right… There were singles available easily. Five fielders were in the deep. Let the batters take a chance. That is your only opportunity to get them out," Gavaskar said on Star Sports. 

The former Indian captain lauded the South African team for showing character. Gavaskar said the way the Proteas applied themselves on tough pitches is praiseworthy. South Africa won the final two Test matches of the series despite conceding an early lead to India in Centurion. India won the first Test at the SuperSport Park by a massive margin of 113 runs but lost the remaining two matches by 7 wickets. 

India vs South Africa, 3rd Test

As far as the third Test match is concerned, India won the toss and elected to bat first against the Proteas. South Africa struck early and dismissed India's opening pair for just 31 runs on the board. Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli then forged a crucial partnership to take India to a respectable total. Kohli smashed 79 runs while Pujara was dismissed for 43. India posted a total of 223 runs on the board. South Africa were then bowled out for 210 runs in their first innings. 

India suffered yet another batting collapse in their second innings as the side lost four wickets for just 54 runs on the board. Kohli along with Rishabh Pant steadied India's ship once again but could score much as he was removed by Lungi Ngidi for 29 runs. Pant, on the other hand, went on to score a century to help India post 198 runs on the board. South Africa chased down a target of 212 runs in the final innings with ease. Petersen scored 82 runs after hitting 72 in the first innings. South Africa won the match by 7 wickets. 

Image: PTI/ANI