Team India captain Rishabh Pant would have been dismissed for a Diamond duck – without facing a ball – if South Africa’s Kagiso Rabada’s effort had been successful in the 1st T20I in New Delhi on Thursday (June 9). Pant made his T20 captaincy debut, however, ended in the losing side as David Miller and Rassie van der Dussen pulled off an incredible seven-wicket haul to end India’s unbeaten run of 12 consecutive T20 victories. achieved.
If South Africa’s Tritian Stubbs had come with a straight hit, Pant would have registered a zero in his captaincy debut. Replacing caretaker skipper KL Rahul as the captain, Pant was involved in a formidable mix-up with Shreyas Iyer during India’s innings at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Thursday.
The Indian wicketkeeper collided with South African pacer Kagiso Rabada at the start of the 14th over after being sent back by Iyer. Deployed at short mid-wicket, debutant Stubbs failed to capitalize on the run-out chance as the Proteas fielder was shy of the stumps with his throw.
Pant survived a Diamond duck and the incident with the Indian captain and his former Delhi Capitals (DC) teammate became a topic of discussion on social media.
Watch the video of the incident here…
pic.twitter.com/C7d406qBSO
— rohit kohli dhoni (@RohitKohliDhoni) June 9, 2022
Rabada bhai was your captain Rishabh Pant once PR….
What are you doing #INDvsSA
— Sid Malhotra (@vgcggvhbj) June 9, 2022
From KG Rabada to his former DC captain now India’s Rishabh Pant, it was serious rugby-style tackles. Fair play points kato their #INDvsSA
— Diamond Biscuit (@DiamondBiskit) June 9, 2022
Team India captain Rishabh Pant admitted that the bowlers failed to execute their plan while defending a mammoth target of 212 against South Africa in the opening T20I at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Thursday. Top innings from Rassie van der Dussen and David Miller helped South Africa beat India by seven wickets in the first T20I of the five-match series at the Arun Jaitley Stadium here.
“We had enough on the board, but I think we were a little off with the execution,” Pant said in the post-match presentation.
The Indian captain praised the Proteas batsmen for their scintillating match-winning innings. Van der Dussen hit an unbeaten 75 off 46 balls while David Miller scored an unbeaten 64 off 31 balls to propel the Proteas to a historic run chase.
“But sometimes you have to give credit to the opposition. Miller and RVD batted well. When we batted, the slower ball was working, but the wicket got better in the second innings. Mostly we executed our plans (for Miller) but the wicket got better and better. We were very happy with the total but the next time we are in a similar situation, we will do better.”
(with ANI inputs)