Kohli revels in huge win over top-ranked Proteas

India’s Test skipper Virat Kohli said Monday he was relishing his captaincy after thrashing top-ranked South Africa 3-0 in a four-match rubber.

“Captaincy fits me perfectly. I relish making plans as a captain: when they come off, it’s a wonderful feeling,” said Kohli, 27, after the hosts won the fourth Test in New Delhi by a massive 337-run margin.

The Indians had won the first and the third Tests on turning tracks in Mohali and Nagpur, while the rain-hit second game in Bangalore ended in a draw.

The series defeat was the first in nine years for the Proteas while playing away from home.

Kohli was leading India in the second full series since being appointed as the regular Test skipper in January. He said beating Sri Lanka in September — India’s first series win in the island for 22 years — had a major “positive impact” on his team.

“And the icing on the cake has been beating the number one Test side 3-0,” he said.

The 3-0 series scoreline helped India climb two places to second in the world Test rankings.

Kohli also praised the South Africans for the way they tried to bat out the day, aiming for a draw.

“I was surprised by their (batting) approach but I was impressed by the way they applied themselves,” he said.

“(But) at no stage did our bowlers panic… I am more than happy that we came out with flying colours in the end.”

South Africa batted out the first two sessions but suffered a collapse in the final one, losing their last five wickets inside 5.1 overs.

Visiting captain Hashim Amla said he was personally disappointed that he could not score as many runs as he would have liked in the series.

The usually prolific Amla managed just 114 runs from seven outings with 43 Monday his highest score.

“As a captain you want to lead from the front by scoring runs. Not being able to do that is certainly disappointing. We failed to click as a batting unit,” said Amla, 32.

When South Africa last toured India for a Test series in 2010, Amla scored an unbeaten 253 besides making two other centuries.

In the New Delhi Test Amla made 25 off 244 balls, the slowest scoring rate in Tests by a batsman who has played 200 balls or more.

“Nobody wants to block like that. But it was the need of the hour to take risky shots out of the equation,” he said.

“It’s really tough and unnatural for a batsman to play like that.”

Scoreboard Courtesy – BBC Sport

South Africa 2nd Innings