Team India suffered a 7-wicket defeat in the second Test of the series against South Africa in Johannesburg on Thursday. Proteas skipper, Dean Elgar played a phenomenal knock of uneaten 96 in the 240-run chase and led the hosts to a series-equalling victory at the Wanderers. India endured a rare below-par bowling performance on a rain-hit Day 4, and their batting struggles across both innings of the Test were the reasons behind the loss.
While the South Africans remained on top for most of the second Test, the dismissal of Rishabh Pant has drawn a lot of criticism due to its situational context. He went for a biggie over covers on his third delivery itself and was caught behind. The Indian wicket-keeper batter’s shot-selection was criticised by former and current cricketers including the legendary batter, Sunil Gavaskar. However, the former Indian captain also insisted that it was not the sole reason behind India’s loss.
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During the post-match show on Star Sports, Sunil Gavaskar said, “Let’s not go about the dismissal. We shouldn’t be making it as if it was the only reason that India lost. I think that other batsmen didn’t make the contribution that they should have. So, I think you could make a point that if India had scored 300 runs in both the innings, it would’ve been different.”
He further added, “Whatever you might say about that particular shot, it was not pretty to watch for sure, but it was not the reason that India lost. India should have scored more runs, batting first they had a pretty decent start but they weren’t able to capitalize on it and get to 280-300.”
Sunil Gavaskar further noted that the partnership between Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane – which lasted for 111 runs for the third wicket – could’ve been more dangerous if the duo had managed to stay longer at the crease.
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Explaining the same, Sunil Gavaskar said, “And even in the second innings, in the Pujara-Rahane partnership, if they had a little more of a partnership, who knows? They could’ve had set up a bigger challenge for the South Africans.”
