South Africa takes a 1-0 lead in the ongoing 2-match Test series against India (IND vs SA), the home team. Temba Bavuma and his boys won the first match at the Eden Gardens by a 30-run margin. Captain Shubman Gill was ruled out of the match because of the neck injury he received during India's first innings batting. In the absence of Gill, Rishabh Pant was the stand-in skipper for India. How was his performance as the captain on Day 3 of the 1st Test?

South Africa was in a tight situation when they started batting on Day 3. Bavuma and Corbin Bosch were on the crease for South Africa to start the day. To take the remaining three wickets of South Africa, Pant decided to go with Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja, and Jasprit Bumrah in the initial stage of the day. It was Bumrah who got the breakthrough. 

Before the dismissal of Bosch, South Africa was rotating their strikes easily. Bavuma and Bosch were dealing with quick singles and doubles. On the challenging track of Eden Gardens, South African batters opted to sneak for singles instead of going for big shots. That singles and doubles slowly but surely helped the WTC champions to increase their lead. 

Read More: Simon Harmer dismisses Ravindra Jadeja after dismissing Rishabh Pant in IND vs SA 1st Test

Aakash Chopra criticised Rishabh Pant for defensive approach

India had to chase down a target of 124 in the second innings to win the first match of the series. Could a target be reduced? A former India opener, now a cricket expert, showed that because of Rishabh Pant's defensive approach as a captain, South Africa was able to get some extra runs through running between the wickets. 

Watch Akash Chopra Exposing Rishabh Pant’s captaincy for straight 2 minutes🤡

Absolute Gold!! 🔥
pic.twitter.com/7BRpOWAz7b

— GillManiax (@GillManiax) November 16, 2025

Chopra criticized Pant for placing long-on and deep midfielders and allowing the batters to sneak some extra runs. The former cricketer believes that if Pant took those fielders close to the batters, into the circle, then he could put extra psychological pressure on the batters. Chopra pointed out that if the batters showed any intention to go against the spin, then those fielders near the boundary rope could be proved effective. But as the batters showed no signs of taking the Ariel route, the fielders at long and deep made very little sense.