Watch: Rishabh Pant was caught in a moment of strife before he’d even faced a ball during India’s opening T20I against South Africa on Thursday in Delhi.
In his first match as India captain – an injury to stand-in skipper KL Rahul led to the gloveman’s elevation – Pant raced off for a quick single from the non-striker’s end from the first ball of the 14th over of India’s innings.
But batter Shreyas Iyer decided against running, and midway down the track, Pant collided with bowler Kagiso Rabada, who was trying to get to the ball.
Turning back to where he’d started from, Pant managed to stay on his feet after the collision with Rabada, but he then tripped running past Tristan Stubbs, the fielder who had a shy at the stumps but failed to make contact.
Pant was on the floor, but he’d managed to survive a strange dismissal. He recovered from the early hiccup to deliver an impressive cameo at No.4, smashing 29 off 16 balls before falling victim to Anrich Nortje. He seemed to see the funny side too. There were chuckles in the commentary box, and Pant smiled as he exchanged a hand-slap with Rabada following the incident.
India finished with an imposing 211-4 in their innings; Ishan Kishan top-scored with 76 before Hardik Pandya closed out the 20 overs with a power-packed cameo of 31* off 12 balls.
