'How do you explain this?' - Former cricketer slams Rishabh Pant for playing rash shot against SA in 2nd Test

India’s captain Rishabh Pant’s dismissal has attracted a lot of attention in the ongoing 2nd Test match against South Africa. At a crucial time when the batters had to form partnerships, Pant was trying to go after the bowler and hit a six, but the ball edged the bat and was caught behind by the wicket-keeper.

Former cricketer Saba Karim was not impressed by the irresponsible batting and slammed Pant while talking on ESPNCricinfo. South African bowlers dominated the Indian batting attack throughout the first innings. There were only two people who scored runs, Yashasvi Jaiswal (58) and Washington Sundar (48). The rest of the batters just came, batted for a few balls, and then went back to the pavilion.

"You can't make any sense out of this. How do you explain this? It's very difficult. Maybe first time in his Test career, Rishabh Pant may not be able to explain this. This happened immediately after tea. You are the captain of the side, you need to shoulder some responsibility. You have got enough experience of playing at that level. So, you lead by example. You lead by absorbing pressure and taking blows,” said Karim on ESPNCricinfo.

Spending some time in the crease has never been Pant’s way of batting. He he renowned for striking from the very first ball without considering the game’s situation. However, Karim openly advised him to do the opposite next time. “All that was missing in Rishabh Pant's approach. I can understand you have to play your natural game, but you can do so by spending some time at the crease,” added Karim.

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South Africa’s Marco Jansen revealed pitch conditions in Guwahati

The second Test match collapse for India was a no-brainer. During yesterday’s press conference, Kuldeep Yadav said that the pitch was like a road, and he hoped the batters would perform well. Much to everyone’s surprise, the opposite happened.

Speaking about the pitch, South Africa’s star bowler Marco Jansen revealed that the pitch looks good and has provided them with bounce and pace. Moreover, the ball is starting to turn as well. This will surely affect South Africa’s batting as well as India in the second innings. The spinners will come into handy.

“I took most of the steam off last night. Today was just all about trying to do a job for the team, which I’m glad I did. (About the pitch) I still think it’s a good wicket. The ball is starting to turn now and then the ball is holding up a little bit. So I think the spinners are definitely going to come into play more in the second innings, probably tomorrow and the day after,” said Marco Jansen.