'He left his ego in kit bag' - Gautam Gambhir lavishes praise on Virat Kohli for his masterly 79 against South Africa

Virat Kohli played a classic knock for the Indian side in the first innings of the 3rd Test match against South Africa. The right-handed batter scored a patient 79 off 201 deliveries to help the Indian side post a total of 223 runs on the board.

And, former Indian cricketer Gautam Gambhir is impressed with Kohli’s performance with the willow. Gambhir opined that Kohli had left his ego in his kitbag, and added that the way the 33-year-old played against South Africa reminded him of Kohli’s successful run in England in 2018.

“Virat has said many times that when you go to England, you should leave behind your ego in India. Today, Virat Kohli left behind his ego in the kit bag and this knock reminds me of his very successful tour of England, where he got beaten many times but left a lot of deliveries outside off-stump,” said Gautam Gambhir in a chat on Star Sports.

He did not try to dominate the bowlers: Gautam Gambhir

Gautam Gambhir also added that Virat Kohli left deliveries outside the off-stump and kept his ego under check. The 40-year-old Gambhir concluded by stating that the Indian skipper did not try to dominate the South African bowlers with the willow in hand.

“Today, in the same way, he left deliveries outside off-stump, he got beaten as well but kept his ego with himself. He did not try to dominate the bowlers on every delivery,” concluded Gambhir.

Apart from Kohli, veteran batter Cheteshwar Pujara also contributed a handy 43 off 77 deliveries for the Indian side. Kagiso Rabada was the pick of the bowlers for the South African outfit and scalped a four-wicket haul. Apart from Rabada, Marco Jansen also chipped in with 3 wickets as well. South Africa ended the day with their scorecard reading 17/1, and trail the Indian total by 206 runs. Jasprit Bumrah scalped the wicket of Protean skipper Dean Elgar in the closing moments of Day 1.