Indian skipper, Virat Kohli was rewarded with the Man of the match award for his brilliant innings of 160* in the third ODI of the six-match series against South Africa. He had said that the team always looks for someone to bat till the end and it was an amazing feeling to do so as the captain. India registered the 3rd consecutive win over the hosts as by a margin of 124 runs.

After India took an unassailable 3-0 lead in the series, Kohli said, “Well the tour didn’t start off too well but I knew I had to come in and get stuck in for us to compete in every game. Feels very good that it’s coming off in winning causes.”

Kohli reckoned that the match took a drastic turn after the 30th over. He said, “It started off with good pace and bounce. The new ball was hitting the ball nicely with pace. It was a drastic change after the 30th over and we immediately chopped down our target from 330 to 280-290.”

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Adding that it was an amazing feeling to stick till the end, especially as a skipper, Virat said, “You’re always looking for someone to get bat till the end and it’s amazing if you do it as the captain. Another good partnership with Shikhar and a good stand with Bhuvi in the end as well. I was cramping towards the end but knew I had to stay till the end to get us 300.”

He further added, “These are the times you’re tested mentally as well as physically. We wanted to give the spinners the pressure of defending today and it worked out. The intensity will be more in the fourth game because we can’t lose this series anymore. I’m sure they’ll come to all guns blazing so we want to close that door.”

India gave a humongous target of 30s runs to the Proteas and bunded out the hosts for a meager total of 179 to take a 3-0 lead in the series.