India far too dependent on Virat Kohli, says Faf du Plessis

What's the story?

Team India scored 307 runs in their first innings of the second Test at Centurion and skipper Virat Kohli scored 153 of those. It was a one-man show all the way as the 29-year-old produced yet another masterful innings to keep his team afloat in their first outing at the SuperSport Park.

Following the visitors' 135-run loss on Wednesday, South Africa captain Faf du Plessis took a jibe at India saying that they are too reliant on Kohli.

"Everyone has chipped in," Du Plessis said of his team.

"We feel as an opposition that India is very reliant on Virat to score runs. So that’s the difference", he added.

"AB de Villiers has scored runs, Dean Elgar, Aiden Markram, I’ve scored runs. Everyone has chipped in", he quipped.

In case you didn't know...

Needing 287 to win in the final innings at the SuperSport Park, Indian batsmen showed no resistance and folded on 151 and lost the match by 135 runs as South Africa took an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.

Du Plessis had also taken a dig at Kohli, who failed twice in the first Test at Newlands, ahead of the second Test, saying that, "to be best in the world, one has to be judged best all around the world".

The heart of the matter

At a post-match press conference in Centurion, the Proteas skipper said that his team wanted to settle scores with India after their 3-0 loss in 2015.

Du Plessis said that his team had a tough time in India and their struggle took a mental toll on his men. He added that this unit was extremely motivated and fought very hard to go 2-0 up in the series.

What’s next?

Now that the Test series is lost, Virat Kohli and his men will try to salvage some pride in the final Test, which will be played at the New Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg from Wednesday, January 24.

Author's take

Although Kohli believes that his side's inability to string together all three disciplines at the same time has resulted in their loss, after the first two Tests there is no doubt that India's batting has been a major let down.

The touring can now only hope to avoid a 3-0 whitewash and get a morale-boosting win under their belt before the action moves to limited-overs.