India v South Africa: 'Mates' Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers brace for trial by fire

LONDON: Sunday's outcome is likely to have personal consequences for both Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers, prolific teammates in the Indian Premier League (IPL) turned purposeful rivals in the Champions Trophy arena.
Kohli is not only facing his first big test as captain in an ICC tournament. He is also caught up in the midst of a very public falling out with the coach, whose future has been put in doubt.A final decision in this ugly tussle has been adjourned to minimize media intrusion and soothe frayed nerves, if any, in the dressing room during this tournament.
Victory here will allow India a passage into the semifinal, temporarily silence whispers of intrigue and swing the focus back to the cricket. A defeat will inevitably encourage talk of dressing room discord affecting on-field performance. Kohli is a ferocious fighter and will look to shape his own destiny till the last ball.
He is also coming off a duck in the last game, and appeared a driven man in the nets on match eve. Kohli's day didn't start off well, with the Indian team bus being rerouted after being caught up in an accident. He brushed aside the hour-long delay to put in a strenuous session, facing throwdowns with the swing-amenable red Duke ball or switching from facing pacers to spinners for more than an hour before he seemed tired and satisfied. This game will be played on the same pitch which hosted the Lanka game, which India lost even after scoring 321. Runs might again be a priority on this belter.
It is probably coincidence, but there was no interaction at all with coach Kumble, not even a casual nod of the head or a chat. Has their relationship deteriorated since arriving here? Are they on talking terms? Or was it routine, necessitated by a packed roster at nets ahead of a big game? There was no way to know, but Kumble did leave the task of manning the spinners' nets, in which Ashwin and Jadeja were wheeling away in a frenzy, to MS Dhoni. Dhoni was seen talking a lot to Jadeja while Kohli put his head down and batted on and on.
Maybe it was the captain's way of brushing aside some nerves ahead of facing a team which is not only No.1 in the ODI rankings, but boasts the No. 1 batsman (AB himself) and the No. 1 and No. 2-ranked ODI bowlers (Rabada and Tahir). "You guys said the first (game) was the biggest test. Against Pakistan you said it was the biggest match of my career. I don't think this one is either," said Kohli in his typically combative manner. "Personally, I crave games like these."
AB de Villiers, meanwhile, might be top-ranked but is going through some batting troubles of his own. In his last five ODIs he has scored a half-century just once. In this tournament he has total of 4 runs from 2 games. The sequence of his last 6 ODI innings read 23, 45, 52, 27, 4 and 0. He only made two 40-plus scores in 9 IPL games. He is even facing fitness issues ahead of the big game.
Asked if his captaincy was on the line in this tournament since he had scored "nothing", AB said, "Do I think?
I think my captaincy is pretty good. Not nothing, but yeah not enough. I think I made some good calls. But oh yeah, the pencil's in your hand. I'm still in good form. I still believe I can."
Both captains had only praise for each other, with Kohli saying he "empathized" with the scrutiny AB is facing. "When you have set standards for yourself, people get shocked (when you don't do well). He's the most committed cricketer around. If he's in the right frame of mind, the past doesn't matter."
AB returned the compliment, saying, "All our plans will be around trying to unsettle him early. He's a world-class player. I know him well. I respect him off the field. He's very competitive. That's the approach I also have."
Whoever loses out on Sunday is likely to get a pat on the back from the counterpart.