'Kohli's responsible batting reminded me of Tendulkar'

South African bowling coach and pace legend Allan Donald said Virat Kohli's "responsible" century in the ongoing opening Test reminded him of how the now-retired Sachin Tendulkar counter-attacked the Proteas during a Test match back in 1996. 

"The one word that comes to my mind is responsibility," he said, talking about India's new No 4. "He (Kohli) showed great discipline and responsibility. 

It reminded me of Sachin Tendulkar when they came here in 1996. I was the first one to say back in 1996 that India didn't have much bottle. 

"One person jumped out and played for the situation, played for his team, and that was Tendulkar. That's what came to my mind when I saw Kohli batting," Donald added yesterday after the opening day's play in the ongoing first Test.

Donald said Kohli's ability to punish the loose balls when required was admirable. 

"The way Kohli left the ball and when we were slightly off the line he punished the ball. He paced his innings very, very well. He put up his hand today and showed real fight and he was tight and didn't give much away until the end." 

The coach did say that he wasn't very happy with the performance of his bowlers although he claimed that South Africa is very much in control.

"At the same time, we were slightly wide and short, probably the widest I have seen outside the off-stump, because the ball was swinging. But the game never really drifted away from us. They are five down, and I will take it," he added.

Donald did agree that Indian batsmen showed a lot of patience early in their innings. 

"It's a mixture of things, having India in trouble early on. Then, it became sloppy in patches as the day went on. India showed a lot of patience, and left the ball really well today. They also played Imran Tahir very well. 

"They have learnt from past matches here, and also we needed to find the right areas with the ball. We could have done it better and it was a tough Test match cricket today," he said.

Kohli had earlier outlined that India will be looking to get 400 runs on the board, and if not they will be really pleased with 350-360 as well. Either way, if that happens, it will put a lot of pressure on the hosts, who have to bat last on this pitch.

"I thought we stuck to our guns really well, and tomorrow we have to come and make a big play. We need to keep our eyes on the pitch, there are a few cracks.

"The second new ball has come at the right time, and tomorrow we have to come swinging, and there’s no doubt about it," Donald signed off.