The first match of the Test series between India and South Africa was played at the Eden Gardens Stadium. South Africa won the match by 30 runs and took a 1-0 lead in the series. Following the loss, Team India’s vice-captain, Rishabh Pant, spoke at the post-match presentation ceremony and explained why Team India lost the match. He also revealed the biggest turning point in the match.
What did Rishabh Pant say after the match?
After the match, Rishabh Pant said, “You can’t dwell on it too much after a match like this. We could have achieved this target, but the pressure on us increased during the run chase.” Regarding the third day’s play, Pant said, “Temba and Bosch put on a good partnership this morning. It was because of their partnership that we fell behind in this match. Their partnership was the biggest turning point in this match. The wicket was helping the spinners. Even a target of 120 becomes very difficult on this kind of pitch. We haven’t thought about improvements, but we will definitely come back stronger in the next match.”
Temba Bavuma made a big statement after the victory
After the win, South African captain Temba Bavuma said, “It was a very exciting match. You want to be a part of such matches and win them for the team. We knew batting in the fourth innings would be difficult, but we had to take advantage of any opportunity we got. I think we did that well. Our bowlers brought us back into the match, but our partnerships with Bosch and I think Marco also helped us a lot.”
Status of the first test match
Speaking of the match, South Africa set India a target of 124 runs to win. In response, the entire Indian team was bundled out for just 93 runs. Captain Shubman Gill did not bat in the second innings due to injury. Washington Sundar did play a knock of 31 runs off 92 balls, but he did not receive any support from the other end. Simon Harmer was the hero of South Africa’s victory, taking 8 wickets in both inning