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Virat Kohli has recalled one of the toughest and most unforgettable moments of his career after revealing an iconic cricket moment he wished he had been a part of, as he took fans back to one of the strangest Test matches in Indian cricket history.
Recalling the horrific Johannesburg Test in 2028, Kohli, who was called one of the greatest cricketers by Brett Lee, said it was by far the most dangerous pitch he had batted on and revealed how Team India still decided to fight till the end.
Virat Kohli remembers the most dangerous pitch of his career
Virat Kohli highlighted how the Indian cricket team had a fearless mentality during the Ravi Shastri era. The conditions were very risky, and South Africa and the match officials were even ready to abandon the match, but India refused to back down and decided to fight till the end.
The third Test of India’s 2018 tour of South Africa at the Wanderers Stadium was one of the most dangerous matches the red-ball game has ever seen. The pitch had a lot of bounce, the ball was spinning fast and even good balls were suddenly bouncing at the batsmen.
The players of both the teams were being beaten continuously. Some were attacked on their fingers, some on their arms and some even on their helmets. Batting was extremely difficult, as the ball behaved unpredictably throughout the match.
Virat Kohli remembered that dreadful Johannesburg Test
The biggest scary moment came when Jasprit Bumrah’s fast ball hit the helmet of South African batsman Dean Elgar. The incident raised serious safety concerns and discussions began between the umpires, the match referee and both captains as to whether the match should continue.
Virat Kohli said in a YouTube video shared by one8 – Beyond the Boundary: “South Africa, we are playing in Joburg. Third Test. And Bumrah gets Dean Elgar, this is a South African guy. He hits him on the head. It was a dangerous pitch to be honest. The most dangerous pitch I have played on. The ball was hitting everybody left, right and centre. Was hitting the length.”
Virat Kohli reveals why India refused to accept a draw
Kohli revealed that South Africa captain Faf du Plessis and the match officials were concerned about the safety of the players, but India wanted the match to continue as both teams had already played two innings on the same surface. Additionally, the tourists were already trailing 2–0 in the series, so they were unwilling to take the easy option in Johannesburg or settle for a draw.
The former Indian captain further shared, “I heard everyone. And Faf was like, someone is going to get hurt. I said no. We need everyone to agree to cancel this game. We want to play. If you guys want to lose at home, that’s your choice; it’s up to you. We will go out there and play. Because we have played two innings. Now suddenly in the last innings, you can’t say that the pitch is dangerous. You guys have to bounce. Our people were trying to come out and play on a dangerous pitch.
‘We were not afraid of falling 3-0’
Despite the risk of losing 3–0, the players decided to stay on the field and fight for victory. That fearless approach eventually paid off and they recorded a memorable 63-run win against South Africa to avoid a whitewash. Virat Kohli had contributed 54 and 41 runs in that match.
Kohli said, “We were down 2-0. We weren’t afraid to go down 3-0. Yeah, we were down 2-0. Like, for us, it was very easy to say, you know, take a draw, man. I mean, we won’t lose another one. It’s only good; one match will be a draw. Not a chance. We want to go and play. And we want to play a certain way.”