Virat Kohli gifts a signed jersey to South African spinner Keshav Maharaj

Team India stalwart Virat Kohli gave his signed Test jersey to South African left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj after the conclusion of the series on Thursday (January 4). Both the teams shared the trophy in the end as the 2-match Test series ended in a draw at 1-1.

Intriguingly, the two Tests ended in just five days on the whole. South Africa won the first match by innings and 32 runs in Centurion in three days. India then made a stellar comeback to win the second Test by seven wickets in just five sessions inside two days.

Keshav Maharaj did not play in Centurion but got a chance in the playing XI in Cape Town this week. However, South Africa did not need his services with the ball across both innings. The home team captain, Dean Elgar, did not give him the ball even once in the two days as the pitch was highly conducive for seamers.

Virat Kohli was the stand-out batter for India in the first Test, as he scored 38 (64) and 76 (82) in the two innings. He then top-scored for the visiting team with 46 (59) and played a crucial role in securing a lead of 98 runs after the first innings in the second Test. Kohli got out for 12 (11) in the second innings on Thursday when India were on the brink of a famous win.

Keshav Maharaj took to his official Instagram handle and shared a picture to give fans a glimpse of Virat Kohli's gift to him after the Cape Town Test. He captioned it:

One for the Wall, Thank you @virat.kohli 🫡 🙏

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The great man just showed how somebody can reinvent his own batting: Sanjay Manjrekar on Virat Kohli

Former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar recently hailed Virat Kohli for reinventing his game and delivering for his team in tough batting conditions. Speaking to ESPNcricinfo after Kohli's 46-run knock on day 1 of the second Test, Manjrekar said:

“I think he’s just more clear in his head. The last series [in South Africa], I keep harping on the fact that he had a strike rate of 34. I am sure somewhere he has decided that it’s not going to happen again - clear mind, no burden of captaincy, no pressure of retaining leadership, just focusing on his batting. The great man just showed how somebody can reinvent his own batting."

Virat Kohli ended the series as the second-highest run-scorer with 172 runs. Dean Elgar topped the charts with 201 runs across 3 innings.