Pant talks about missed chances in shameful Test whitewash, saying India ‘Can’t take anything for granted’.
‘Can’t take anything for granted’ – Pant rues missed chances after 2-0 clean sweep.
According to their stand-in skipper Rishabh Pant, India lost the series against South Africa 2-0 as a result of their inability to seize opportunities.
“They [South Africa] definitely played better cricket, but at the same time, in cricket you can’t take anything for granted,” Pant said at the post-match presentation. “You can play at home or away, but at the same time, cricket demands that determination and that extra.
“There are moments in the game where you need to capitalise [on] it as a team, as a batting unit. But as a team, we didn’t capitalise on those enough for a longer period of time, and that cost us the whole series.”
After having South Africa at 246 for 6 at one point in the second Test in Guwahati, where Pant replaced the injured Shubman Gill as captain, India allowed South Africa to escape and post 489.
With an unlikely 549, South Africa went on to bat India out of the Test. India’s batsmen had their opportunities on the last day; both B Sai Sudharsan and nightwatcher Kuldeep Yadav were spared, but they ultimately collapsed for 140, losing by 408 runs, their largest defeat in Test cricket history.
In their last three home series, India have lost two of them. They ended a remarkable record of 17 consecutive home series victories over a 12-year period last year when they suffered an extraordinary 3-0 whitewash against New Zealand.
With an unlikely 549, South Africa went on to bat India out of the Test. India’s batsmen had their opportunities on the last day; both B Sai Sudharsan and nightwatcher Kuldeep Yadav were spared, but they ultimately collapsed for 140, losing by 408 runs, their largest defeat in Test cricket history.
“Definitely it’s a little disappointing, but as a team we need to get better,” Pant said. “And you’ve got to give credit to the opposition that they played better cricket than us,” Pant said. “Because, in series like this, which has already been tough, if we dwell too much… you’ve got to take the learning and stick as a team.”