Sports

South Africa vs india: Virat Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara celebrate Centurion victory by dancing with hotel staff

December 30, 2021
Bharat Times

There was music, dance and cake cutting at the Indian team resort in Centurion after Virat Kohli’s men scripted history by becoming the first Asian team to beat South Africa in a Test match at the SuperSport Park. India took a 1-0 lead in the 3-match series after hammering the hosts by 113 runs on Day 5 of the Boxing Day Test.

In a video shared by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), skipper Virat Kohli can be seen shaking a leg with the hotel staff at the Irene Country Lodge. As the members of the Indian team got down from the bus, dance and music welcomed them back to the hotel.

South Africa vs India 1st Test: Report | Highlights

Opener Mayank Agarwal, who made a significant contribution with a 60 in the first innings, was also seen dancing in sync with a member of the hotel staff. Mohammed Siraj, R Ashwin and Cheteshwar Pujara had their time in the middle as the rest of the team watched on.

Notably, off-spinner R Ashwin shared the clip of him dancing with Siraj and Pujara and said it was the first time that the senior India batter agreed to shake his legs.

“The customary post-match pictures got too boring, hence @cheteshwar_pujara decided to make it memorable by shaking a leg for the first time ever with @mohammedsirajofficial and yours truly. What a win,” he said.

Meanwhile, Rishabh Pant and Mohammed Shami cut a special cake at the team hotel after achievement major milestones in the Centurion Test. While Shami joined the 200-Test wickets club, Pant broke MS Dhoni’s record for th fastest wicketkeeper to 100 dismissals in Tests.

After KL Rahul’s first-innings hundred, India’s pace quartet of Shami, Siraj, Shardul Thakur and Jasprit Bumrah dominated the attack, leaving the South African batters in trouble. The hosts did not manage to get past 200 in either of the two innings as they succumbed to a 113-run defeat.

With the victory, India equaled their record from 2018 for the most number of away Test match wins in a calendar year — 4.

It was a memorable year for the Indian Test team as they won Test series in Australia, dominated England at home and in England before hammering New Zealand at home. The dream run culminated in their first-ever victory in Centurion.