SA vs IND: Virat Kohli gearing up to return for Cape Town Test

The third and final Test between South Africa and India will be played in Cape Town, starting on Tuesday (January 11). The visitors outplayed the hosts in the first match and won the game by 113 runs. However, South Africa bounced back at the Wanderers and beat India by seven wickets. The visitors were without their talismanic skipper Virat Kohli, who missed the second Test match due to back spasm.

Kl Rahul led the team in his absence and Hanuma Vihari played instead of Kohli. However, the regular Indian Test skipper is likely to return for the series decider. The BCCI shared a picture of Kohli practising in nets on their official Instagram account. Earlier, head coach Rahul Dravid had hinted that Kohli was doing fine and should be ready for the final Test match.

It's GO time here in Cape Town 👏 👏#TeamIndia all set and prepping for the series decider 👍 👍#SAvIND pic.twitter.com/RgPSPkNdk1

— BCCI (@BCCI) January 9, 2022

"Virat Kohli should be fine from all accounts, he should be fine. He has had the opportunity to run around a little bit, he has had the opportunity to test it a little bit. Hopefully, with a couple of net sessions in Cape Town, he should be good to go. Everything I am hearing and just having a chat with him, he should be good to go in four days," Dravid had during a virtual press conference.

The skipper’s return to the team will mostly come in place of Hanuma Vihari, who had a good outing against South Africa in the second Test. He scored a valiant unbeaten 40 and added some crucial runs along with lower-order batters. However, with the management keeping their faiths in Pujara and Rahane, Vihari will most likely have to make way for Kohli. The two experienced batters scored vital fifties at Wanderers and returned to form. On the other hand, Kohli would also be eager to get back amongst the runs.