 "Rishabh Pant is leading India in the five-day format for the first time in the second Test against South Africa in Guwahati. PTI")
Day 2 of the second Test between India and South Africa in Guwahati wasn’t off to a great start for Rishabh Pant and his boys, with Senuran Muthusamy and Kyle Verreyne batting through the morning session unscathed to steer South Africa past 300.
LIVE | India vs South Africa, 2nd Test in Guwahati, Day 2
Pant is making his captaincy debut in the Test format in the ongoing match at Guwahati’s Barsapara Stadium, and has had a mixed run so far. And early in the morning session, the wicketkeeper-captain wasn’t happy with some of his players, especially with Kuldeep Yadav at the start of his first over of the day.
Kuldeep, after all, took his time to bowl his first delivery of the day after being introduced in place of Jasprit Bumrah half-an-hour into the second day’s play. Some of the players were also taking a while to get to their fielding positions.
Pant expresses frustration over second warning from umpire
The delay resulted in captain Pant getting a warning from umpire Chris Gaffaney – the second of the match. The wicketkeeper wasn’t pleased one bit at getting warned by the umpire for the second time, and made his displeasure known to Kuldeep and the rest of his teammates – at least those who were within earshot.
“Yaar, 30 seconds ka timer hai. Ghar pe khel rahe ho kya? Ek ball daal jaldi. (The 30-second timer is on. Are you playing at your home? Quickly bowl a delivery),” Pant was heard telling Kuldeep at the start of the 88th over.
A third warning from the umpire results in a five-run penalty for the batting team, as per ICC’s ‘Stop Clock’ rule that has been introduced to the Test format for the first time in the 2025-27 World Test Championship cycle.
It has already been in place in white-ball formats since late 2023, and has greatly reduced time wastage between overs.
South Africa, meanwhile, were sitting pretty at 316/6 at tea on Day 2 with Senuran Muthusamy and Kyle Verreyne batting on 56 and 38 respectively after batting through the morning session unscathed.
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View AllThe Proteas are leading the series 1-0 after their 30-run victory in Kolkata, and will be hoping to boost their chances of winning a Test series in India after 25 years by posting a total in excess of 400.