The Indian batsmen poked, prodded and soldiered on despite getting several blows on every part of the body on day three of the final Test at Johannesburg. The ball was exploding off the surface and Virat Kohli, Murali Vijay and co, apart from seeing off the formidable South African attack, were left nursing their bruises.

There were several discussions featuring the umpires and the two captains – Kohli and Faf du Plessis – also joined in. Kohli, never the one to hide his emotions, had a bewildered look for much of his stay at the crease. While this knock of 41 would certainly be buried under the sea of hundreds he has piled up in his career, it was certainly one his more challenging essays in his career.

Broadcaster and former West Indies pacer Michael Holding gave one of the most damning verdicts on the pitch, calling it s**t and giving it a rating of 2 out of 100. Earlier, Shaun Pollock and Sunil Gavaskar had also slammed the Wanderers strip. There were some folks who chose to concentrate on the battle between bat and ball and praised the Indian batsmen – Kohli, Vijay and a rejuvenated Ajinkya Rahane – for their efforts to take their side’s lead over 150, which certainly looks like a match-winning one under the circumstances.

Kohli’s battling knock drew praise...

Johannesburg, a venue that has hosted a World Cup final, may not feature in South Africa’s cricket calendar if the International Cricket Council deems the pitch “poor”.