Follow UsThe body language of the Indian players in the Guwahati Test was dismal to say the least. Not only was it evident while they were batting, fearing almost every delivery bowled by the South African spinners, but also while they were in the field.
The prime example of the collapse in that body language was seen in the standing captain, Rishabh Pant. Always seen in a jolly good mood, which is clearly evidenced by his commentary on nearly every delivery from behind the wicket, Pant was rather dull as a skipper when it came to making changes in the bowling and in the field as well.
He was rightly caught by former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, who posted a photo of Pant looking clueless from behind the stumps with the captain, “I really hope we can bounce back while batting in the 2nd innings, but the indications on the field with respect to body language.”
The post on X by Ashwin was shared by many, and all of them mostly agreed on the fact that Indian fielders' shoulders dropped as soon as a partnership started to develop in the South African innings.
Former teammate of Virat Kohli from his U-19 and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) days, Sreevats Goswami, even went on to claim that Kohli and his energy were being missed in the Indian camp, which looked rather dull compared to the youthfulness in terms of the playing members.
India, after conceding a lead of 288 runs, let South Africa score another 260 and, as a result, were tasked to chase 549 to it. In pursuit of such a high target, they lost their openers, Yashavi Jaiswal and KL Rahul, at the end of Day 4 in Guwahati.