India vs South Africa: Virat Kohli's agression may set the tone of the series
With both teams comprising quaility match-winners, it could be Indian Test skipper Virat Kohli's aggression that could set the tone in the coming days.
Winning and losing aside, the India-South Africa series will also be about mind games and dominating the opposition by applying ruthless tactics.
With both teams comprising quaility match-winners, it could be Indian Test skipper Virat Kohli's aggression that could set the tone in the coming days.
Kohli's love for aggression has the backing of high-performance director Ravi Shastri, and Ishant Sharma's antics in the third Test against Sri Lanka – which earned him a one-match ban – could only be a sign of things to come.South African coach Russell Domingo is aware of that fact.
"I think both sides play pretty aggressively. I think in the leadership of Kohli, they (Indian players) play that brand of cricket. We saw a lot of that in Sri Lanka and the World Cup. Their body language and the way they (bowlers) bowled were of very aggressive nature. We will definitely expect tough, hard and uncompromising cricket from India and they can expect the same from us. We are up for it," Domingo said.
Domingo said it's not only the Indian team that boasts of fiery characters.
"I think we are both pretty laid-back teams but we both have some fiery characters. Guys like Dale Steyn, Kohli and, of course, Ishant Sharma, who has been banned. He has obviously been leading that brigade for India at this moment," Domingo added. "I expect the series to be played in a good spirit if both sides play in the limits of the game."