An awkward but heated moment unfolded on the fourth day when India’s stand-in captain Rishabh Pant scolded Kuldeep Yadav, who was taking a long time to start his overs in the ongoing second and final Test against South Africa at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati.
During the ongoing second and final Test, Kuldeep Yadav kept stretching the 60-second limit between the end of one over and the start of the next. Before bowling the first ball of the 48th over of the South African innings, Kuldeep wanted every fielder to be standing exactly where he had imagined.
Rishabh Pant got angry at Kuldeep Yadav’s slow start, commentator could not stop laughing
Rishabh Pant was patient, but Kuldeep managed to frustrate him once again. The Indian captain was not upset about the field adjustment, but wanted Kuldeep to bowl the first ball early and adjust the rest later, as there was no punishment after the start of the over.
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But delay was risky. Teams are given two warnings for slow overstarts. After that, the umpire can impose a penalty of five runs. The warnings reset every 80 overs, but Kuldeep kept hiding right on the edge. This time, Pant could not control himself and shouted at Kuldeep, “At least bowl the first ball.”
– Crictalk (@crictalk7) 25 November 2025
Saba Karim criticizes Rishabh Pant for careless shot in Guwahati
Earlier, former Indian selector Saba Karim had criticized Rishabh Pant for careless shot selection after another poor performance in the ongoing second and final Test against South Africa. With India already struggling and missing regular captain Shubman Gill due to a neck injury, Pant was expected to bring calmness and control.
Instead, the left-handed batsman could only last long enough to score 7 runs before giving away his wicket at the crucial stage. Walking in after the tea break, Pant had every chance to steady the innings. But just a few minutes later, he attacked the pitch looking for a big swing, misjudged the ball completely, and edged the ball lightly past wicketkeeper Kyle Verreynne.
“There is no logical explanation for that. Perhaps for the first time in his Test career, even Rishabh Pant himself may have struggled to justify that shot. It came soon after tea, and as captain he is expected to take charge. He has enough experience to handle the pressure at this level and show the way with the blows,” ESPNcricinfo quoted Karim as saying.
On the other hand, India were bundled out for just 201 runs in reply to South Africa’s mammoth total of 489 runs, which showed how far they fell in both discipline and execution. Now, the Proteas team has taken a huge lead of 466 runs and still showed no hurry in declaring the innings.
With South Africa tightening their grip and batting with confidence, India now face an almost impossible task to claw their way back into the match in Guwahati. Currently, the touring team’s score against India on the fourth day in the ongoing final Test at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium is 184/4.