IND vs SA, 2nd Test: Virat Kohli sweats it out as India prepares ahead of crucial Cape Town Test

Most of the Indian players had an extended session of practice at the Newlands Cricket Ground on Monday with the exception of Rohit Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja.

Indian cricketer Virat Kohli with head coach Rahul Dravid during a practice session ahead of the second Test match between India and South Africa, at Newlands Cricket Ground, in Cape Town | Photo Credit: ATUL YADAV/ PTI

The sun sets late in Cape Town. At this time of the year, there is bright light till about 8 p.m. and there was indeed plenty of sunshine throughout New Year’s Day.

The Indian cricket team, which flew down from Johannesburg on Sunday, must be hoping the new year brings a change of fortune after the disappointment of the Centurion Test. Its finish was anticlimactic in fact, as the visitors’ second innings proved a disaster.

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For a team that had arrived on these shores seeking history – wanting to become the first from India to win a series in the longest format – and for its millions of followers, the defeat hurt. The manner of the loss must have hurt more.

At a time, when India are no longer the poor tourists that they used to be – remember some of those superb wins in countries like England and Australia in the recent years – a loss inside three days can be a setback.

But there is enough character in this team to put the Centurion debacle behind and get the campaign in the new World Test Championship cycle back on track; India’s Test record at this venue isn’t very flattering, though.

In this age of non-stop cricket, teams do not get much time to recover and all those practice games, which helped established players regain form and unearth fresh talents, are becoming a distant memory.

All the practice a visiting side – or the host, for the matter – is at the nets, or on the ground, a day or two before a Test.

Most of the Indian players had an extended session of practice at the Newlands Cricket Ground on Monday. Only a few, like captain Rohit Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja were missing; they had spent a lot of time at the nets at Centurion, though, after the first Test.

Virat Kohli had skipped that session, but he was one of the men in focus during the training, which was conducted on the ground as well as the nets. He was as intense as he is when he bats in a game.

He took on the Indian bowlers, including Jasprit Bumrah and R. Ashwin, as well as a local left-arm pacer. He stepped out to hit the India off-spinner over his head. Rahul Dravid, who was a calm presence, would want him to be as authoritative in the second Test, starting on Wednesday.