India had a new Test captain lead them out onto the field as Rishabh Pant took over the reins in Shubman Gill’s absence. There was bound to be a lot of pressure on Pant in terms of his leadership and tactics, with this being his first international exposure to captaincy – and it got off to a rocky start.
South Africa’s top order batters started well at the ACA Barsapara Stadium in Guwahati, with Pant quickly pivoting to a relatively defensive field in order to contain the scoring on a true batting wicket. With his spinners in operation, the wicketkeeper opted to keep the field spread with not too many close-in fielders.
Pundits weren’t happy with how this decision eased the pressure on the Proteas. Speaking on Star Sports, Anil Kumble had biting words for the new Indian captain.
“On the leg side, an ODI field has been set. It is the first session of Day 1, and even then there is a deep square leg, long on and deep midwicket,” criticised Kumble.
‘Guesswork will fail here…’
Aiden Markram and Ryan Rickelton got the Proteas off to a good start with an 82-run opening stand, before Jasprit Bumrah and Kuldeep Yadav removed both of them in the space of 4 deliveries to bring India back into it. However, Tristan Stubbs and Temba Bavuma then combined for an 84-run partnership through the middle session, before India fought back as the old ball began to grip.
Aakash Chopra also had his doubts with the plan with regards to the field, and criticised Pant for a field placement which didn’t make sense.
“There is a fielder at mid-wicket, there is a long-on as well, there is no short leg, what is the plan here? Even guesswork will be failed here, because when have we ever seen Ryan Rickelton dance down the track and play over the top with the spin?” asked Chopra on commentary.
“Is this field planned for a short ball burst, and just for that have you set this? We have to revise how modern-day Test captaincy works,” wondered the former Indian batter.
Ultimately, India did manage to plug away with late wickets. Bavuma, Stubbs, and Wiaan Mulder were dismissed in quick succession as South Africa fell from 166/2 to 201/5. Kuldeep Yadav did the brunt of the damage with 3 wickets on the day, with Bumrah and Jadeja taking one each and Siraj taking the wicket of Tony de Zorzi right before close of play with the fresh second new ball.
