Mohammed Shami is among the best three fast bowlers in the world at the moment, said India captain Virat Kohli after the fast bowler took three wickets in the second South African innings to lead the visitors to victory in the first Test in Centurion. India now lead the three-match series 1-0 as they look for a first ever win in a Test series in South Africa.

“Absolutely world class,” said Kohli about Shami in the post-match presentation ceremony. “For me among the best three seamers in the world at the moment. Just the way he bowls on pitches that don’t seem to offer too much to others. He just gets that extra bit from any pitch he bowls on purely because of his strong wrist, his seam position and his ability to hit a length consistently. (Hitting) areas where you can’t leave the ball is absolutely his quality and very happy for him to get 200 wickets and another impactful performance,” he said.

South Africa vs India 1st Test: Report | Highlights

Kohli also said that India would have got a bigger first innings lead had fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah been able to bowl more overs in the first innings. A freak ankle injury had kept Bumrah out for much of the first innings but he still ended up taking two wickets.

“We just spoke about it in the change room – the fact he didn’t bowl much in the first innings, it allowed the opposition to get around 40 extra runs. Just the way these guys bowl together has been a hallmark of our team getting a result in difficult situations,” he said.

Kohli said that the 117-run opening stand between Mayank Agarwal and KL Rahul, who won the player of the match for his 123 when India batted first, was crucial to them going on to win the match.

“It’s always a difficult place to play against SA (Centurion). The discipline that the batters showed. Winning the toss, batting first overseas is a tough challenge. Credit to Mayank and KL for the way they set it up. We knew we were in pole position with anything over 300-320,” he said.