Former Indian spinner Murali Kartik expressed surprise after Rishabh Pant showed his frustration on the second day of the second Test against South Africa. Pant, who is mostly known for his friendly banter from behind the stumps, is leading India for the first time in Test cricket.
The wicket-keeper was not happy with his bowlers and fielders, as was heard on the stump mic. Pant was agitated when Kuldeep Yadav was taking too long to set his field and bowl. The stand-in captain then asked Yadav to just bowl quickly and let him set the field after he received two warnings.
Murali Kartik said on his YouTube Channel, “It was interesting that Rishabh Pant got warned twice and you could see a bit of frustration creeping into him. That’s not the Rishabh Pant we’ve seen. Yes, it’s his first Test captaining India but you could see him upset with a few people.”
On the other hand, former South African captain Shaun Pollock defended Indian bowlers despite them conceding 489 runs.
“I won’t be too judgmental about India’s approach. There is always a worry these days on the lack of emphasis on picking up wickets on flat surfaces or scoring runs on difficult pitches,” he said.
Meanwhile, Kartik urged the Indian spinners to deceive the opposition batters in the flight when they are bowling on sedate tracks.
“I am not critical of such days as we’ve all seen them happen where you toil hard but don’t get a wicket. But the one thing I did feel is from a spinner’s point of view, on tracks which are docile, can you beat the batter in the air? You have to figure out a way to be in the game from days one to three before the pitch starts spinning at the fag end of Day 3,” said Kartik (via the aforementioned source).
“So the only thing I would say was the spinners were too quick. You have to figure out a way to bowl slow through the air but with revs. That’s where you create the doubt. I know Kuldeep Yadav can do that. But can Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar do it? It’s 4-5 kph slower than what they bowl but with some revs to deceive a batter in the air. This is where the skill set comes in and it’s not just a tailormade wicket where you just need to rock up and put the ball somewhere.”
India will resume the third day at 9-0.
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