Batsmen let the team down, says Kohli after series loss

Centurion [South Africa], Jan. 17 (ANI): With South African bowlers again dismantling the Indian batting order to hand the visitors a 135-run defeat in the second Test, India skipper Virat Kohli said the bowlers did their job well, but the batsmen let the team down.

With this consecutive win, the du Plessis-led South Africa sealed the three-match Test series 2-0 at the Centurion on Wednesday.

India were all out before lunch on 151 chasing a target of 287.

Earlier, the Indian top-order also failed in the Cape Town Test as they could not carry the game to the last day.

Aa press conference after the match, Kohli said, "We failed to get a good partnership and take the lead. We have let ourselves down from the first game into the second. The bowlers have done the job, but the batsmen have let the team down again and that's why we stand here."

"I want to leave everything on the field, for my country, for my team. That's the way I play. 150 (153) means nothing right now that we have lost the series," Kohli said.

He added, "If we had won, even a 50 or a 30 would have mattered more to me. Having not won the game, personal milestones don't matter to me. As a team, you want to win collectively. We tried but we weren't good enough. South Africa were better than us, especially in the fielding department, and that's why they are the winners. And they deserve to be."