Rishabh Pant joins Virat Kohli in an unwanted list after losing first T20I against South Africa
Team India got outplayed in their first T20I match against South Africa as they lost the game by seven wickets. KL Rahul got ruled out of this series due to his groin injury and hence, Rishabh Pant was handed over the captaincy. However, his first match as the Team India captain did not go as per plan as he joined an unwanted list after this loss.
Team India was enjoying a 12-match winning streak and was on the verge of making a world record by winning 13 matches on a trot. However, they blew it as the Proteas chased down the target of 212 runs with five balls to spare. After this loss, Pant became only the second captain to lose his debut match as captain, after Virat Kohli.
First time India lost a match after scoring more than 200 in the first innings
In 2017, Virat Kohli also lost his first match as the captain of the side against England. Even, though both these players scored the same runs in their debut inning as captain (29 runs). However, Kohli ended his captaincy stint by becoming one of India’s most successful white-ball captains ever.
Even, though this is the first time when Team India lost a T20I match after scoring more than 200 in the first innings. Before this loss, India were on an 11-match streak where they managed to avoid losses after scoring 200+ runs.
At the post-match presentation, a dejected Pant gave credit to the opposition for their excellent batting skills. He said: “We had enough on the board, but I think we were a little off with the execution. But sometimes you got to give credit to the opposition. Miller and RvD batted well. Slower balls were working when we batted, but the wicket got better in the second innings,”
Speaking about the match, South Africa won the toss and opted to bowl first. India posted a total of 211 runs by losing only four wickets. Ishan Kishan (76 off 48 balls) and Hardik Pandya (31* off 12 balls) were the stars of the show. In reply, Rassie van der Dussen (75* off 46 balls) and David Miller (64* off 31 balls) batted brilliantly for the fourth wicket to seal the deal for the visitors.
Team India will look for an equalizer against the Proteas in Cuttack on Sunday, 12 June.
