Pant slams spinners after India’s 2nd loss to South Africa

TIL Desk Sports/ A distraught skipper Rishabh Pant made no bones about the uninspiring performance of the two leading spinners Axar Patel and Yuzvendra Chahal, urging them to come good after another meek surrender at the hands of South Africa in the second T20 International, in Cuttack, on Sunday.

While Axar could be given only one over in which he conceded 19 runs, Chahal was equally bad as he was smashed for 49 runs in four overs. In the two games, Axar has given away 59 runs in five overs while Chahal has gone for 75 in six overs. “The spinners have (need) to come (perform) better into the game,” Pant said at the post-match presentation ceremony without elaborating much.

He admitted that a total of 148 for 6 was probably 15 runs short despite the track being two-paced in nature. “I think (while) batting, we were 10-15 runs short,” he said. “Bhuvi (Bhuvneshwar Kumar for his 4/13) and all other fast bowlers though bowled very well. We were short in the second half and the things did not go our way.”