Rishabh Pant's captaincy ambitions shut down even before starting

Former Team India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin criticized stand-in captain Rishabh Pant for his tactics during South Africa’s second innings of the first Test. Ashwin stated that the wicketkeeper-batter allowed the Proteas to score too easily on the third day, which helped them set a decent target for India.

Temba Bavuma and Corbin Bosch added a 44-run partnership for the eighth wicket that helped the team post a decent total. Chasing 124, India were bowled out for just 93 runs at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Sunday, November 16. South Africa recorded a 30-run win and took a 1-0 lead in the two-match series.

Have to Start With Your Best Bowlers - Ravichandran Ashwin Slams Rishabh Pant

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Ravichandran Ashwin said that Rishabh Pant misread the situation early on the third day. Ashwin added that Rishabh Pant should have opened the morning session with Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja.

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“It was wrong. Test-match mornings always have to start with your best bowlers. You can finish the game with other bowlers only if you are massively ahead of the others. If you want to give opportunities to other bowlers, you can give opportunities," Ravichandran Ashwin said.

"But in low-scoring Test matches, Bumrah and Jadeja should have opened the day, then Kuldeep. That’s how the rotation should’ve worked. You know the game won’t go too long. You can easily use two bowlers in one hour,” he added.

Jasprit Bumrah Came Back, and He Got Corbin Bosch Out - Ravichandran Ashwin

Ravichandran Ashwin pointed out that Jasprit Bumrah dismissed Corbin Bosch in his first spell. He stated that the pitch would have offered less spin after the roller and that this tactical error by Rishabh Pant played a major role in India letting the match slip away.

"Bumrah came back and he got Corbin Bosch out. So, I think we made a massive error there. Especially after the roller, the spin would have stopped. So, we should have started with Bumrah and Jadeja. There was a tactical error because of which we lost the match," Ashwin further stated.

Ravi Ashwin bashed stand-in captain Rishabh Pant for the choice of bowler Pant started with in the early overs in morning session. He said it was a wrong decision and called it a tactical error. pic.twitter.com/bLTqyWYjny

— LaPulga (@LAPULGA_11) November 16, 2025

Team India Bowled Out for 93 Runs in the Chase

Chasing 124 runs, Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul got out in the first three overs, leaving the team at 1 for 2. Washington Sundar (31 off 92) and Ravindra Jadeja (18 off 26) tried to revive the chase with small contributions, but the rest of the batting line-up had no answers to South Africa’s tight bowling.

Axar Patel scored 26 runs off 17 balls, including one four and two sixes. Simon Harmer was the pick of the bowlers for South Africa with 4 for 21, while Marco Jansen and Keshav Maharaj picked up two wickets each.

The loss broke India’s unbeaten Eden Gardens streak from 2013. It was also South Africa’s first Test win in India since 2010. The visiting team secured crucial points in the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) 2025-27 cycle.

After the match, Rishabh Pant said the team shouldn’t dwell too much on the defeat but admitted that the chase was achievable. He said that the key partnership between Temba Bavuma and Corbin Bosch was the moment that put India under pressure.

Also read: "This pitch is what we..." - Gautam Gambhir exposes truth about Eden Gardens pitch after defeat