 "Rishabh Pant scored only 20 runs in the second Test and his captaincy left a lot to be desired. AP")
South Africa handed India their worst ever Test defeat and completed a dominating 2-0 clean sweep of the hosts after winning the second Test by a mammoth 408 runs in Guwahati on the final day of the match. India stand-in skipper Rishabh Pant was “little disappointed” after the loss, which is the team’s fifth in last seven Tests at home.
Chasing a massive target of 549, India were bowled out for a paltry 140 with off-spinner Simon Harmer doing the majority of the damage with a six-wicket haul.
IND vs SA: Pant wants India to learn from defeats
Pant had a horror debut as Test captain with India suffering their worst ever Test defeat. He also had a poor Test with bat, scoring just 20 runs from the two innings. In the post-match presentation ceremony, a visibly disappointed Pant said that the team will have to learn from these defeats.
“It’s little disappointing. As a team we need to get batter,” Pant said. “Credit to the opposition for playing better than us. They dominated the series but at the time you can’t take cricket for granted.”
The left-handed wicket-keeper batter also rued on not capitalising important moments in the Test series.
“We’re playing at home and some times we were up in the game but we didn’t capitalise on them and we have to learn and get better,” Pant said at the post-match conference. “Whether you’re playing at home or away cricket demands that determination and the extra effort. As a batting unit you need to capitalise on certain moments. As a team we didn’t do that.”
On being asked about the positives from the series, the stand-in Indian captain did not have much to say.
“The positives from this series will be to focus on our own plan,” Pant said in his concluding remark.
Quick Reads
View AllMarco Jansen was adjudged the Player of the Match for his 93 and then a six-wicket haul in the first innings while Harmer got the Player of the Series award for his sensational bowling.