“You can’t take cricket for granted”: Rishabh Pant’s ruthless take on South Africa decimating India
Table of Contents
After another tragic whitewash at their home, Rishabh Pant, the stand-in Indian skipper for the game, admitted to having taken the match for granted and having failed to capitalize on several crucial moments of the game, which finally led to their defeat.
South Africa defeated India in their home for the second time in the history of Test cricket, and that too after 25 long years. The last time such a thing happened was back in 1999/00, and then the Indian captaincy passed on from Sachin Tendulkar to Sourav Ganguly.
However, Shubman Gill was saved from the guilt, as he was absent from the final match at Guwahati when India had the chance to level the series. Rishabh Pant stood in as India's skipper in both the second innings in Kolkata and then in the match at Guwahati, and India failed under their vice-captain.
"Credit to the opposition that they played better cricket than us," Rishabh Pant praises dominant Proteas in Guwahati
Rishabh Pant, the Indian stand-in skipper, joined for the post-match interview after India's humiliating as well as tragic loss in Guwahati. Two whitewashes in two years; this has happened after a gap of almost 40 years in Indian cricket.
The captain has to bear the burden of a string of low scores alongside the team's humiliating performance. Yashasvi Jaiswal and Ravindra Jadeja remained the only half-centurions in the series, and the Indian team batters averaged below 15.23 across the two games.
"Definitely, it's a little disappointing, you know, but as a team we need to get better. And you've got to give credit to the opposition that they played better cricket than us," said Rishabh Pant.
"Definitely, they dominated the series, but at the same time, you can't take cricket for granted. You're playing at home, but at the same time, we need to be clear with our mindset," Rishabh Pant looked a bit frustrated after the poor show.
"We didn't capitalise it as a team," Rishabh Pant points at India's flaws as a unit
Rishabh himself failed to deliver as a captain of the team; he himself got out, having made just 20 runs in the second game, and always looked like he was throwing his wicket away due to his overaggressiveness on the track.
"And there were moments in the game where we were up on the team, but we didn't capitalise it as a team. But, you know, in the future we're going to get better, learn from it and get better from it. No, definitely they played better cricket, but at the same time, you know, in cricket you can't take anything for granted. You can play at home or away, but at the same time, you know, cricket demands that determination and that extra," Pant identified.
"Because, you know, in a series like this, which has already been tough, if you dwell too much, you've got to take the learning and stick as a team.
"I think the positive will be focusing on our own plan, and we need to be better with that. That's the only thing we're going to take from it," opined Pant when asked about the positives from the series for India.
Temba Bavuma is at the top of the list of captains who have won the most Tests
South African skipper Temba Bavuma has brought out a ray of golden light for the Proteas, who have been an out-of-fortune side throughout their time in ICC tournaments. He not only brought home South Africa's first ICC title but also turned out to be one of South Africa's most successful captains.
Temba has won 11 of his 12 Tests as the captain of the Proteas, and the only one he missed so far was the rain-affected draw at the Port of Spain last year.
Most wins after first 12 Tests as captain:
11 - Temba Bavuma
10 - Ben Stokes
10 - Lindsay Hassett
ALSO READ: I won Champions Trophy, Asia Cup: Gautam Gambhir turns cocky, mentions BCCI as he refuses to quit
Tagged:
India National Cricket Team South Africa National Cricket Team India vs South Africa South Africa vs India Rishabh Pant
