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January 11, 2022. Newlands, Cape Town.3rd Test: India vs South Africa.Day 1. Morning Session.
We arrived with history in our grasp. The series read 1-0. A win here, or even a draw (depending on how the WTC points work, but a win was the goal), would seal our first-ever Test series victory on South African soil. The Final Frontier was ready to be conquered.
The mood in the camp was buoyed by the return of the King. Virat Kohli was back, his back spasm healed, his eyes burning with the intensity that defines him.
Team Changes:
IN: Virat Kohli, Umesh Yadav.
OUT: Hanuma Vihari, Mohammed Siraj (hamstring niggle/rested).
(Shardul Thakur came back at his place.)
The Toss: Virat walked out in his blazer. He spun the coin. Dean Elgar called wrong. "We'll bat first," Virat said, looking at the pitch which had a tinge of green but looked hard underneath. "It looks like a good wicket. Runs on the board in a decider are gold."
The Newlands pitch, however, had demons lurking in the morning moisture.
Over 1: Kagiso Rabada. He started with a maiden to KL Rahul. The ball flew off a length.
Over 2: Duanne Olivier. Olivier, with his slinging action, banged it in. Mayank Agarwal looked tentative.
Over 3: Kagiso Rabada.KL Rahul, the centurion from the first and second Test, was on strike. He was on 1. Rabada ran in. 144 kmph. It was a beauty. Good length, angling in, then straightening off the seam just a fraction. Rahul was caught on the crease. He tried to defend inside the line. Snick. The sound was crisp. The ball flew to Kyle Verreynne. An easy catch.
KL Rahul c Verreynne b Rabada 1 (9)India: 6/1.
I walked out to the middle. The applause was polite, but the tension was thick. I took my guard. "Watch the bounce," Rahul whispered as he crossed me. "It's steep."
Over 5: Kagiso Rabada.Mayank Agarwal was on strike. He was on 2. Rabada was in the middle of a dream spell. He bowled one wide of the crease, angling it across. Mayank poked. Hard hands. The ball took the thick outside edge and flew to Aiden Markram at second slip.
Mayank Agarwal c Markram b Rabada 2 (15)India: 12/2.
Two wickets down in 30 minutes. The demons of Cape Town were awake.
The crowd roared as Virat Kohli walked out. He looked different today. There was no swagger, no unnecessary aggression. He looked like a monk walking into a storm.
He met me in the center. "Leave," Virat said. One word. "Leave everything?" I asked. "Everything," he confirmed. "Until they bowl to our strength. We grind."
What followed for the next four hours was a masterclass in self-denial.
Virat Kohli, the man who possesses the best cover drive in the world, put it away. He shelved it. When Rabada bowled full outside off, tempting him, Virat lifted his bat like a periscope. When Marco Jansen tried to angle it across, Virat watched it pass.
I followed his lead.
Session 1: Survival. We took blows. I got hit on the ribs by Olivier. Virat got hit on the glove by Ngidi. We didn't rub it. We didn't flinch. At Lunch, India was 75/2. Kohli: 30*. Aarav: 35*.
Session 2: The Flow. After lunch, the sun baked the pitch. The movement reduced slightly. We started to score.
Over 35: Marco Jansen to Kohli. Jansen overpitched. Finally. Virat leaned forward. The weight transfer was hydraulic. The bat came down in a perfect arc. The ball raced through extra cover. The cover drive was unlocked. FOUR.
Over 38: Lungi Ngidi to Aarav. Ngidi banged it in short. I was waiting. I rolled my wrists. The Pull Shot. Kept down, controlled, piercing the gap at mid-wicket. FOUR.
We brought up the 100 partnership. We brought up the 150 team score.
I reached my 50 with a flick off Keshav Maharaj. A gritty, fighting fifty. Virat reached his 50 shortly after, raising his bat with a look of grim determination.
We were taking the game away from South Africa.
Over 47: Marco Jansen.
The tall left-armer came round the wicket. He was trying to create rough outside my off-stump. I was batting on 67. I felt set. I felt like another hundred was inevitable.
Ball 47.5: Jansen bowled it full, wide of off stump. It was the 'sucker ball'. For 4 hours, I had left that ball alone. But maybe confidence of another 100 was setting in. Maybe I saw the scoreboard ticking over and got greedy. I saw the width. I went for the drive. But I didn't get to the pitch of the ball. My footwork was lazy. The ball held its line. It kissed the outside edge.
It flew to Keegan Petersen at gully. He dived to his right. A sharp, low catch.
Aarav Pathak c Petersen b Jansen 67 (142)India: 167/3.
I stood there, devastated. I had done the hard work. I had built the foundation. And I threw it away ten minutes before Tea. Virat looked at me from the non-striker's end. He didn't say anything. He just shook his head slightly. Concentration.
I walked off, dragging my bat. A crucial knock, but an incomplete one.
The tea break came at 170/3. "We are in a good position," Rahul Dravid said in the dressing room. "Rahane and Virat need to stitch a partnership."
Over 53.5: Kagiso Rabada.Ajinkya Rahane (9) got a jaffa. It pitched on off and straightened. It squared him up. Edge to keeper. India: 175/4.
Over 60.3: Marco Jansen.Rishabh Pant came out. He tried to counter-attack. He hit a few boundaries, racing to 27. But Jansen proved to be his nemesis again. Short ball. Pant tried to pull. Too close to the body. Glove. Catch to gully. India: 198/5.
Over 62:Ravichandran Ashwin nicked Rabada behind. 2 runs.India: 205/6.
At the other end, Virat Kohli stood like a statue amidst the ruins. He watched his partners come and go. He was batting on 70. He was running out of partners.
Over 67.4: Shardul Thakur. Lord Shardul came in. He hit two fours. Then he tried to drive Olivier on the up. Caught at cover. 12 runs.India: 212/7.
Over 70.5: Jasprit Bumrah. Bumrah faced Rabada. Fast, straight, full. Stumps shattered. 0 runs.India: 215/8.
Virat Kohli was on 80. He had Mohammed Shami and Umesh Yadav left. He tried to farm the strike. He refused singles. He hit a glorious cover drive off Rabada to move to 84.
But he knew he had to score quickly before the tail vanished.
Over 77: Kagiso Rabada. Shami fell, edging to slip. 7 runs.India: 223/9.
Last man: Umesh Yadav.
Over 79: Virat was on 85. Rabada bowled a length ball, slightly wide. Virat had to go for it. He tried to slash it over point to get a boundary and keep strike. But the bounce was true. It took the edge. It flew to second slip. Dean Elgar held on.
Virat Kohli c Elgar b Rabada 85 (201)
INDIA ALL OUT: 229.
The Indian innings ended in a whimper. 229 Runs. It was a fighting total, but on a pitch that was quickening up, was it enough?
We walked back to the dressing room. Virat looked exhausted. He had played one of his most disciplined innings—leaving balls for fun—only to be let down by the middle order.
"229," Dravid said, writing it on the board. "It's competitive. But we need to bowl like our lives depend on it."
I strapped on my bowling boots. The disappointment of my dismissal was pushed aside. Now, I had the new ball in my hand. And Table Mountain was watching.
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[FLASHBACK: Day 3 Afternoon Session]January 13, 2022. Newlands, Cape Town.South Africa 2nd Innings.Target: 212.
To understand why the series slipped away, you have to understand the moment the Indian team stopped playing cricket and started fighting a ghost.
South Africa was steady. Dean Elgar, the captain with the granite chin, was anchoring the innings. India was desperate. We needed a breakthrough to crack the door open. The ball was few overs old, losing its shine, and the pitch was settling down.
Virat Kohli threw the ball to Ravichandran Ashwin. "Spin him out," Virat said, clapping his hands. "He plants his front foot. Use the drift."
I stood at mid-on, wiping sweat from my forehead. The tension was suffocating. Every run felt like a dagger.
Ashwin came around the wicket. He flighted the ball beautifully. It drifted in the air, pitched on middle and leg, and straightened just enough. Elgar lunged forward. He tried to defend, but his bat got stuck behind his pad. Thud. It hit him right on the knee roll, dead in front of the stumps.
"HOWZAT!"
The appeal was primal. Ashwin roared. Pant screamed. I went up with both arms. Marais Erasmus, the on-field umpire, thought for a split second. He raised his finger. OUT.
Elgar looked disappointed. He shook his head, started to walk, then paused. He signaled the 'T'. Review.
"He's gone," I said to Virat as we huddled. "That's plumb. Hitting middle of middle." "Dead," Virat agreed, high-fiving Ashwin. "Height is fine. Knee roll."
We stood there, relaxed, waiting for the formality of the red screen so we could celebrate the big fish.
The Replay:
Front Foot: Fine.
UltraEdge: No bat. Flat line.
Ball Tracking:
Pitching: In Line.
Impact: In Line.
We prepared to cheer. Then, the trajectory line appeared on the big screen. The red line didn't go straight. It curved upwards violently, as if the ball had hit a trampoline instead of a knee. It sailed over the stumps.
Wickets: MISSING.
Decision: NOT OUT.
For a second, there was silence. Absolute, stunned silence. Even Dean Elgar, who had walked ten yards towards the pavilion, stopped and stared at the screen, his mouth open.
Then, the stump mic picked up the first reaction. It wasn't a player. It was the umpire. Marais Erasmus:"That is impossible."
That sentence was the spark in the powder keg.
The Indian team didn't just get angry. We exploded. It felt like a robbery. Visually, geometrically, logically that ball was crashing into the stumps. For the technology to say it was bouncing over, on a pitch that had kept low for three days? It felt orchestrated.
Ravichandran Ashwin was the first to snap. He didn't look at the umpire. He looked straight at the camera at the Pavilion End. He walked right up to the stumps, bending down so his voice would be crystal clear.
Ashwin:"You should find better ways to win, SuperSport."
The accusation was direct. SuperSport the host broadcaster. The implication was nuclear: The broadcaster controls the data. They are manipulating the tracking.
Virat Kohli, who had been kicking the turf in frustration, heard this. The captain, who usually channels his aggression into performance, channeled it into pure, unadulterated rage. He walked up to the stumps at the non-striker's end. He leaned into the mic.
Virat:"Focus on your team as well when they shine the ball, eh! Not just the opposition. Trying to catch people all the time."
He was referencing the 'Sandpaper Gate' era scrutiny, implying that the cameras were always hunting for Indians making mistakes, but when the technology had a chance to save the home team, it magically did.
KL Rahul, the Vice-Captain, usually the calmest man in the chaotic Indian dressing room, walked past the stumps. His face was a mask of disgust.
KL Rahul:"It's the whole country against 11 guys."
That line. It became the headline. The siege mentality. The feeling that we weren't just playing 11 South Africans; we were playing the cameramen, the technicians, the crowd, the system.
I stood there, watching my seniors lose it. And I felt it too. The injustice. I walked past Elgar, who was marking his guard again, looking almost guilty for surviving. I looked at the stump mic. I knew the world was listening.
Aarav:"When the replay wins you wickets, who needs skill? Right?"
I kicked the dirt near the popping crease.
Aarav:"Ball-tracking is doing more turn than the pitch today. Magic."
I turned to walk back to my fielding position, but I threw one last barb over my shoulder.
Aarav:"It's not DRS... it's the DRAMA Review System."
Up in the commentary box, the legends of the game were watching the feed, their headphones buzzing with the raw audio from the middle.
Mike Haysman: "Oh my word. Look at these scenes. The Indian players are furious. They are surrounding the umpire. They are speaking directly to the broadcasters. This is... this is unprecedented anger."
Shaun Pollock: "I have to say, looking at it live, I thought it was out. It hit him on the knee roll. But the bounce... maybe Elgar is shorter than we think? Or he was further forward? But the reaction... accusing the broadcaster? That is a serious line to cross. Ashwin saying 'Find better ways to win'... that is questioning the integrity of the technology."
Sunil Gavaskar: "I understand the frustration, Polly. I really do. You look at that pitch map. Every other ball of that length has hit the stumps. Suddenly, this one ball decides to become a tennis ball and bounce over? It defies physics. And Erasmus... when the umpire himself says 'That is impossible', you know something is wrong. The players feel cheated."
Mike Haysman: "But Sunny, to suggest it is rigged? To say 'Whole country against 11 guys'? That is paranoia kicking in under pressure. They are rattled. The decision has gone against them, yes, maybe it's a glitch, but to turn it into a conspiracy... that shows South Africa has gotten under their skin."
Sunil Gavaskar: "It's not paranoia if the evidence looks this strange! Virat is kicking the ground. KL Rahul is furious. Even young Aarav Pathak is getting involved. 'Drama Review System'. They feel the technology is inconsistent. And frankly, in this series, some of the calls have been borderline."
Shaun Pollock: "It's the heat of the battle. But they need to be careful. The ICC Match Referee, Andy Pycroft, will be listening to every word. Dissent is one thing; accusing the host board of cheating is another. They need to calm down and take the wicket. If they lose their heads now, they lose the Test match."
Pollock was right. We lost our heads. For the next 45 minutes, we didn't bowl to take wickets. We bowled in anger. We bowled bouncers. We sledged. We appealed for everything. The discipline that had won us the first Test evaporated in the heat of the injustice.
Dean Elgar and Keegan Petersen capitalized. They scored 40 quick runs while we were busy fighting the ghosts in the machine.
By the time we cooled down, the game had drifted. Lungi Ngidi later commented in the press, "The Indian rant showed they were under pressure. The decision rattled them, and we used that."
He was right. We let the 'whole country' beat us because we forgot to play the 11 guys in front of us.
I stood at mid-off, watching the sun dip. The scoreboard ticked over. South Africa: 101/2.
The decision might have been wrong. The technology might have glitched. But our reaction... that was the moment the series was truly lost.
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If the Test series was a battle of attrition that ended in a stalemate, the ODI series was a splash of cold water to the face. We had arrived in South Africa as T20 World Champions, the kings of the white ball. We left looking mortal.
1st ODI (Paarl): South Africa batted first. Temba Bavuma and Rassie van der Dussen scored centuries. We chased 297. Shikhar Dhawan (79) and Virat Kohli (51) gave us a start, but the middle order collapsed. I scored a quickfire 30 but holed out. Result: South Africa won by 31 runs.
2nd ODI (Paarl): We batted first. Rishabh Pant played a blinder (85). We set 287. But Janneman Malan and Quinton de Kock made a mockery of our bowling. They chased it down with 7 wickets in hand. Result: South Africa won by 7 wickets. Series Lost: 0-2.
The dressing room was quiet. The "Invincibles" tag we had earned in Dubai was peeling off. Fatigue was setting in. The bubble life, the high-intensity Test series, and the travel were taking their toll.
The Dead Rubber: 3rd ODI
January 23, 2022. Newlands, Cape Town.
We walked out for the final match of the tour. The series was gone, but pride was still on the line. We didn't want to leave African soil with a whitewash.
Virat Kohli lost the toss (again). We were put in to bat.
Shikhar Dhawan and KL Rahul opened. Dhawan, the Gabbar of Indian cricket, was in his element. He danced down the track to the pacers, slapping them through the off-side. He scored a fluid 61 before falling to a pull shot.
Then, the King and the Prince joined forces. Virat Kohli and Aarav Pathak.
We batted with a sense of freedom that had been missing in the first two games. Virat was classic. He rotated the strike, ran hard twos, and played the anchor. He reached his 65 effortlessly before edging a wide one.
I decided to have some fun. I took on the spinners. I swept Keshav Maharaj. I reverse-swept Tabraiz Shamsi. I reached 77 off 55 balls—a knock filled with innovation and power. We posted 287.
South Africa started well again. Quinton de Kock was threatening to take the game away with a century (124). But then, I took the ball.
Over 35: De Kock tried to pull me. I bowled a slower bouncer. Top edge. Caught at deep square leg. The big wicket.
That opened the door. I ran through the middle order. I trapped Rassie van der Dussen LBW. I bowled David Miller with a yorker. And finally, I had Andile Phehlukwayo caught at slip.
My Figures: 10 Overs. 45 Runs. 4 Wickets.
We bowled them out for 283. India won by 4 runs.
It was a close shave. A consolation win. But it stopped the whitewash.
The Long Flight Home
January 24, 2022.
We boarded the charter flight back to Mumbai. The mood was somber. Usually, a flight home is a happy occasion. But this time, there was a sense of unfinished business.
We had drawn the Test series 1-1. We had lost the ODI series 1-2.
It wasn't a bad tour. We had won a Test at Centurion. We had drawn the test series. We had won an ODI. But for a team that had conquered the world two months ago, "not bad" wasn't good enough.
I sat next to Virat. He was looking out the window at the clouds. "Tough tour," I murmured. "Grind," Virat nodded. "South Africa is always a grind. We missed chances. DRS moments. Small margins."
He sighed, leaning back. "But now... we rest. And then, the circus begins."
"The Auction?" I asked.
"The Auction," Virat smiled, a competitive glint returning to his eyes. "I heard you've been busy. Gujarat Titans, huh?"
"Building a team is harder than I thought," I admitted. "Drafting players, logos, coaches... it's a headache."
"It's the best headache you'll ever have," Virat said. "Just don't pick all the good players. Leave some for RCB."
"No promises," I grinned.
The plane banked, turning towards the Indian Ocean. The international season was paused. The red ball was packed away. Now, the world would turn its eyes to Bangalore.
The IPL 2022 Mega Auction was coming. And I wasn't just a player anymore. I was a buyer.
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Small and Rushed Chapter as I am going to start IPL soon, and nice ipl this time, not like 2021, rushed. So hopefully amazing chapters comming.
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Author's Note: - 3400+ Words
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