South African star cricketer AB de Villiers found a positive for India in what has been a thoroughly disappointing Test series so far – their “lively pace attack” which he says, has surprised the hosts. The hosts took an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series with comprehensive wins in Cape Town and Centurion.

On Thursday, during the launch event of the Pink ODI against India on February 10, De Villiers said, “India has really impressed me. They have surprised us in terms of pace bowling. They have shown a lot more skill and definitely, there is a lot more pace than we expected. Test cricket is the ultimate challenge. It was very enjoyable to be part of a really important and good series win. I think it was a great team effort from everyone, from the fielders to the bowlers, and too big pressure moments with the bat in hand.”

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Talking about his physical fitness after returning to Test cricket for the first time since December 2015, Mr. 360 said, “It feels like my debut back in 2004 when I started as an opening batsman, then a keeper at no.7 and back the to the opening, and up and down. My body is feeling right at the moment. I do have niggles but that is part of Test cricket. You never get up feeling a hundred percent. The back is still there, the ankles and knees, everything is hurting at times but to be playing the ultimate form of the game again, it has been a great challenge.”

De Villiers is currently the highest run-scorer in the series so far, scoring 200 in four innings inclusive of two match-defining fifties at Cape Town and Centurion. Only Virat Kohli has matched up to him with 153 in the first innings of the second Test. Talking about him, ABD said, “Virat’s knock in the first innings was very, very good. I did congratulate him afterward. But there were quite a few guys who contributed as well. Faf du Plessis got a half-century and Dean Elgar played a very good hand too.”

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South African opener Aiden Markram also scored 94 in the first innings. Lungi Ngidi took 6-39 as India were bowled out for 151 while chasing the target of 287 runs. Kagiso Rabada has been ever-present in the South African bowling attack in both Tests. Talking about those performances, De Villiers said, “I have been extremely impressed by them, the way they have come in and the maturity Aiden and Lungi have shown. KG (Rabada) is obviously the number one bowler in the world and still a youngster.”

Virat Kohli and his men will be looking to register a win to save their pride and avoid the humiliation of becoming the first Indian team to lose 3-0 in South Africa. When asked if the hosts would look to force that result as payback for the 2015 series in India, de Villiers jokingly replied, “I can’t remember what happened in 2015. Oh, we won the ODI series, yeah.”