What did South Africa really expect? That they could walk into India, poke the lion, and stroll away without consequences? Winning a Test series on Indian soil is an achievement, no arguments there. But the moment their head coach casually tossed out the word “grovel”, he crossed a line he never should’ve approached. And if he thought Indian cricket would simply shrug that off, he clearly forgot one thing: this is Virat Kohli’s territory.
Because what happened after the Ranchi ODI wasn’t a coincidence. Kohli didn’t give a fiery press conference. He didn’t point fingers. He didn’t deliver a dramatic speech. He simply refused to shake hands - a gesture so small, yet more powerful than any headline, any quote, any post-match comment. That one moment told the world exactly how India felt about the disrespect.
And let’s be honest - be grateful Kohli has retired from Tests. If he was still around in the red-ball format, the answer would’ve arrived long before a handshake became the talking point. Virat Kohli has built a career on turning provocation into fuel, and few teams have felt the heat of his competitive fire like South Africa.
India vs South Africa in recent ODIs
What makes the Proteas’ sudden arrogance even more baffling is the context they conveniently ignore. 2 Test wins don’t rewrite history. India has dominated South Africa in six of their last seven ODIs, including a full series win in South Africa in 2023. The numbers don’t lie - India has had the upper hand far more often than the visitors would like to admit.
India vs South Africa ODI record in Raipur
And now comes Raipur, a venue where South Africa has never played an ODI, and where India has never lost one. Add a charged-up home crowd and a fired-up Indian dressing room, and suddenly the confidence begins to look a lot like overconfidence.
South Africa wanted to talk big. Fine. But they should’ve remembered one truth: if you provoke India, Virat Kohli will always find a way to answer - sometimes through words, sometimes through intensity, and sometimes, as Ranchi showed, through silence sharp enough to cut through all the noise. They poked the lion. Now they wait for the roar.
