Respect the way AB plays, but it's all about getting him out, says Virat Kohli

Ahead of the South Africa-India series, AB de Villiers brought an end to his sabbatical from Test cricket and returned to lead the side against Zimbabwe in the first ever four-day Test due to the absence of regular skipper Faf du Plessis. AB’s return to Test cricket also meant that it has become the most anticipated match-up between the Indian and South African team ahead of the full-fledged series that starts on January 5 in Cape Town. The duo, Kohli and de Villiers, have been long-time team-mates at Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL and great mates off the field, but Kohli confirmed that their bonhomie will be replaced by fiery competitiveness during the series.

"Everyone wants to be the stand-out player in the series and make contributions towards the team winning the series but unless you have that as a group, you don't have many chances of winning the series. Some people might have brilliant individual performances but then you will always be fine with one or two people doing well. Right now with the kind of hunger we have in the group, everyone wants an opportunity. That's a very exciting thing.

India will begin 2018 in pursuit of a historic maiden Test series win in South Africa. Earlier, India have lost five of the six previous series they have played in the African nation, with the best result being a 1-1 draw in 2010-11. However, the Indian skipper stated that history would not be a factor in the series and was confident the team’s balance would help them in the series.

“The kind of bowling attack and balance we have now, we definitely believe we can win here. There’s no two ways about it. If we didn’t have that mindset, there’s no point of getting on that flight as well. We have come here wanting to express ourselves and believing in our abilities, knowing that we have the right balance to win Tests in any conditions.