PUNE, Oct 11: India captain Virat Kohli blended grace with determination to raise his record-breaking seventh double hundred which grinded down a hapless South Africa on the second day of the second Test, here on Friday.
With Kohli scoring a career-best unbeaten 254, India buried the Proteas under a mountain of runs, putting on board a mammoth 601 for five.
Kohli surpassed legendary Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag, who had scored six double tons each.
He also equalled Ricky Ponting�s record of 19 hundreds as Test skipper even though record belongs to Graeme Smith (25).
Ravindra Jadeja (91) also helped himself with some heavy duty hitting before missing out on his second Test hundred as Kohli declared immediately after his dismissal.
At stumps, South Africa were reeling at 36 for three as India aim to wrap the series up inside four days.
Umesh Yadav got rid of both the openers � Dean Elgar (6) and Aiden Markram (0) � while Mohammed Shami saw the back of Temba Bavuma (8).
Kohli effortlessly shifted gears, toying with an attack which looked resigned after the first session as India took complete control.
In the first session, a beautiful straight drive off Vernon Philander brought up Indian captain�s 26th Test and 69th international hundred and the muted celebration was more about contentment than elation.
The final boundary count in his innings was an enviable 33 fours and two sixes in 336 balls. It was a marathon knock as he alone faced 56 off 156.3 overs bowled in India�s innings.
Kohli was an epitome of concentration and with dependable vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane (59) he raised a 178-run fourth wicket stand which broke the spirit of the Proteas attack.
The partnership of 225 runs with Jadeja in 39.1 overs was like adding insult to the injury.
Not for once did he look in any sort of hurry to complete the milestone as Kohli was ready to respect the good deliveries, slowly trudging his way to the coveted three-figure mark.
South Africa will certainly feel dejected as their bowlers put up a good show even though the scoreboard suggested otherwise.
SCORECARD
India 1st Innings: Mayank Agarwal c du Plessis b Rabada 108, Rohit Sharma c de Kock b Rabada 14, Cheteshwar Pujara c du Plessis b Rabada 58, Virat Kohli not out 254, Ajinkya Rahane c de Kock b Maharaj 59, Ravindra Jadeja c de Bruyn b Muthusamy 91. Extras: (LB-6, NB-11) 17. Total: (For 5 wickets in 156.3 overs) 601. Fall of wickets: 1-25, 2-163, 3-198, 4-376, 5-601. Bowling: Vernon Philander 26-6-66-0, Kagiso Rabada 30-3-93-3, Anrich Nortje 25-5-100-0, Keshav Maharaj 50-10-196-1, Senuran Muthusamy 19.3-1-97-1, Dean Elgar 4-0-26-0, AK Markram 2-0-17-0.
South Africa 1st Innings: Dean Elgar b U Yadav 6, Aiden Markram lbw b U Yadav 0, Theunis de Bruyn batting 20, Temba Bavuma c Saha b M Shami 8, Anrich Nortje batting 2. Total: (For 3 wickets in 15 overs) 36. Fall of wickets: 1-2, 2-13, 3-33. Bowling: Ishant Sharma 4-0-17-0, Umesh Yadav 4-1-16-2, Ravindra Jadeja 4-4-0-0, Mohammed Shami 3-1-3-1. � PTI
