Rishabh Pant learnt of his appointment as India captain in place of the injured KL Rahul barely 24 hours before the start of the T20I series against South Africa on Thursday.

But Pant, on international captaincy debut, seemed to have marshalled his troops well at the Kotla in New Delhi, his home ground, with India being in control for a good part of the game. Till David Miller and Rassie van der Dussen snatched it away with their breathtaking strokeplay.

Obviously, India’s bowlers could have done better to defy Miller and Van der Dussen. But what about skipper Pant? Could he have been a little more sharper with his bowling changes? Besides, what are the takeaways of captain Pant after the seven-wicket defeat at the Kotla?

Not bringing Yuzvendra Chahal on to bowl in the middle overs appeared a tad surprising, especially with Van der Dussen having had problems in the past in tackling wrist spin. And when Pant did bring Chahal back after he had gone for 22 off two overs in his earlier spell, the Proteas were almost home with only four needed in the final over.

Situation reading

Former chief selector MSK Prasad, during whose tenure Pant made his India debut, however, views the matter differently. “Rishabh was relying on his quicks as it was they who had made Van der Dussen look scratchy early on. Our quicks were the ones to tie him down.

“So that way, I think Rishabh did a decent job in continuing with them. He had read the situation well,” Prasad, also a former India wicketkeeper-batsman and Andhra captain, told The Telegraph on Friday.

“Rishabh has always been a good reader of the game and situations. That, in fact, had played a role in his appointment as Delhi captain (during the 2017-18 Ranji Trophy),” said K.P. Bhaskar, coach of Delhi when Pant made his first class debut in 2015.

“Yes, he could have let Chahal finish his quota of overs, especially when others were going for runs. But you’ve got to analyse the overall conditions as well. Also, that missed catch (when Shreyas Iyer dropped Van der Dussen at deep mid-wicket when the South African was on 29) proved to be very costly in the end,” Bhaskar, currently an NCA (National Cricket Academy) coach, said.

On his part, Pant had done well to slot Shreyas at deep mid-wicket as Van der Dussen had been targeting that region.

Instinctive

Insiders at Delhi Capitals, which Pant has been leading in the IPL, harp about his instinctive nature. He takes all inputs from the coaching staff but adds something of his own as per the match situation alongside talking with the bowlers and always backing them even if they are expensive, Capitals insiders said.

“Rishabh will keep improving with more matches. If he can work on his game, he can certainly do the same with captaincy,” Prasad said.