IND vs SA: Saba Karim criticises Rishabh Pant for reckless dismissal

The Indian Cricket Team is currently standing on the verge of another series defeat against South Africa. In the ongoing two-match test series, the Indian team has already lost the first test and is now in serious trouble in the second test as well. In response to South Africa’s first innings score of 489 runs, the Indian team was bowled out for just 201 runs in their first innings. The South African side had a chance to enforce the follow-on against the Indian team, but they opted to bat and set a mammoth target for the Indian team. 

The Indian batters totally flopped in the first innings. Only Yashasvi Jaiswal (58) and Washington Sundar (48) were the highest scorers in the first innings. At the same time, Kuldeep Yadav (19 runs) showed brilliant patience and tackled 134 deliveries. This helps India cross the 200-run mark; otherwise, the Indian team could have been bowled out even earlier. 

Team India’s batter didn’t survive against Marco Jansen’s pace and Simon Harmer’s orthodox spin, and they lost wickets at regular intervals. Except for Sundar, Jaiswal, and Kuldeep, no batter took the responsibility. Especially the team’s captain, Rishabh Pant, faces severe criticism after his dismissal, having thrown his wicket for hitting a six off Marco Jansen. 

Former wicket-keeper batter Saba Karim slams Pant for his dismissal on day 3 of the second test at Guwahati. When Pant was batting on 7 runs, he tried to hit a six by moving forward, but the ball took the edge of his bat and went into the hands of wicket-keeper Kyle Verreynne. Karim slammed Rishabh Pant’s mindset, saying Pant should have absorbed the pressure instead of throwing his wicket. 

"You can't make any sense out of this. How do you explain this? It's very difficult. For the first time in his Test career, Rishabh Pant may not be able to explain this. The incident 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," Karim said.

"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. Playing such high-risk shots at that stage of the game pushes your entire team into a corner. Now, India have found themselves in such a difficult position. It will be very difficult for them to get out of it," he added.

South Africa, the visitors, has already taken a 288-run lead, and they want to stretch it to a mammoth target for the host team. The Indian team will have to do something miraculous to draw this India vs South Africa 2-match test series. Even if this match ends in a draw, South Africa will still win the series 1-0. Therefore, India has no option but to win.