Former Team India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin criticized stand-in captain Rishabh Pant for his tactics during South Africa’s second innings of the first Test. Ashwin said the wicketkeeper-batsman allowed the Proteas to score runs very easily on the third day, which helped them set a good target for India.
Temba Bavuma and Corbin Bosch made a partnership of 44 runs for the eighth wicket, due to which the team was successful in making a good score. Chasing a target of 124 runs, India were all out for just 93 runs at Eden Gardens, Kolkata on Sunday, 16 November. South Africa won by 30 runs and took a 1–0 lead in the two-match series.
Have to start with your best bowlers – Ravichandran Ashwin criticizes Rishabh Pant
Ravichandran Ashwin, speaking on his YouTube channel, said that Rishabh Pant misjudged the situation at the start of the third day. Ashwin said that Rishabh Pant should have started the morning session with Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja.
Ravichandran Ashwin said, “It was wrong. You always have to start the morning of a Test match with your best bowlers. You can finish the game with other bowlers only when you are far ahead of others. If you want to give chances to other bowlers, you can give chances.”
“But in low-scoring Test matches, Bumrah and Jadeja should have started on the first day, then Kuldeep. This is how the rotation should have worked. You know the game will not last very long. You can easily use two bowlers in an hour,” he said.
Jasprit Bumrah came back, and he dismissed Corbin Bosch – Ravichandran Ashwin
Ravichandran Ashwin told that Jasprit Bumrah dismissed Corbin Bosch in his first spell. He said that after the roller on the pitch, there would be less spin and this tactical mistake of Rishabh Pant played an important role in India losing the match.
Ashwin further added, “Bumrah came back and dismissed Corbyn Bosch. So, I think we made a huge mistake there. Especially after the roller, the spin would have stopped. So, we should have started with Bumrah and Jadeja. There was a tactical error due to which we lost the match.”
Ravi Ashwin criticized stand-in captain Rishabh Pant for choosing bowlers in the early overs in the morning session. He said that this was a wrong decision and called it a strategic mistake. pic.twitter.com/bLTqyWYjny
– LaPulga (@LAPULGA_11) 16 November 2025
While chasing the target, Team India was out for 93 runs.
Chasing 124, Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul were out in the first three overs, leaving the team’s score at 1 for 2. Washington Sundar (31 off 92) and Ravindra Jadeja (18 off 26) tried to chase the target with small contributions, but the rest of the batting line-up had no answer to South Africa’s tight bowling.
Akshar Patel scored 26 runs in 17 balls, which included one four and two sixes. For South Africa, Simon Harmer took 4 wickets for 21 runs, while Marco Johnson and Keshav Maharaj took two wickets each.
This defeat broke India’s unbeaten streak at Eden Gardens since 2013. It was also South Africa’s first Test win in India since 2010. The visiting team secured important points in the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) 2025-27 cycle.
After the match, Rishabh Pant said that the team should not dwell too much on the defeat, but admitted that chasing the target was possible. He said that the crucial partnership between Temba Bavuma and Corbin Bosch was the moment which put India under pressure.
Also read: “This pitch is what we want…” – Gautam Gambhir reveals the truth about the Eden Gardens pitch after the defeat