Indian wrister Kuldeep Yadav jumped to the defense of Rishabh Pant after his tactics were questioned on Day 2 of the second Test against South Africa at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati. Pant, who captained India for the first time in a Test match, came under the scanner as South Africa’s Senuran Muthuswamy (109) and Marco Jansen (93) took the team’s total to 489.
How South Africa were allowed to recover from 246/6 to post 489several pundits slammed his pitching setup as the new batsmen were allowed to settle. However, Kuldeep felt that the team could not afford to over attack and run out. He mentioned that he was satisfied with the field presented to him.
“Obviously it’s always good to have an attacking mindset, but you also have to understand how the wicket is playing. You can’t attack all the time and run away. I thought our fielding was very good. For me personally, if I hit the right areas, then naturally I create pressure. I was happy with my fielding and mindset. You have to attack but also be aware of who is almost at 5 and 0.” Kuldeep said at the post-match press conference.
Legendary Indian pacer Anil Kumble criticized India’s lack of attacking fielding during the opening session when Muthusamy and Verreynne were still slacking off. Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj opened the bowling before the spinners took over, but neither could break the partnership.
Muthusamy looked calm throughout, showing no urgency and constantly alternating between hitting singles and doubles. His even-handed approach helped him stitch 70 runs off 179 deliveries.
“The Indian bowlers and their fielding strategy allowed the South African batsmen to settle in. On a pitch that offers little help, you have to do things. You have to force the batsmen to play the shot – that’s how the wickets come. We saw it with Bavuma, with Wiaan Mulder, even Stubbs, when he was going to attack the pitch, you want the batsmen to only play the shots on the pitch. Sport.
“If you start with long, long-on and deep cover in place, the batting will immediately get comfortable. India may simply be unaccustomed to conditions where wickets don’t fall often; they are used to surfaces where spinners naturally dominate. On these tracks you can stuff the bat and wait. But they have to build pressure on this wicket,” he added.
Meanwhile, South Africa ended the second day firmly in control. India closed on 9/0, still 480 runs behind. With the Temba Bavum-led side needing only a draw to seal a historic series win in India after 25 years, the hosts need a strong batting to stay alive; otherwise, they risk suffering series defeats.
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Issued by:
Rishabh Beniwal
Published on:
November 23, 2025
