Rishabh Pant and Rassie van der Dussen, who found themselves in the midst of a controversial caught-behind decision during the South Africa first innings, were involved in a heated exchange during the second India innings that followed, with stump microphones capturing parts of their converasation.

During the second innings of the South Africa-India Johannesburg Test, van der Dussen was adjudged caught-behind following a catch by wicketkeeper Pant, despite a widespread debate over the legitimacy of the catch, with a school of thought being that the catch wasn’t cleanly taken.

In the India innings that followed, van der Dussen, stationed at short-leg, was heard having an elaborate back-and-forth exchange with Pant, new to the crease. With speculations that the discussion was over the catch, the microphone recorded Pant hitting back at van der Dussen while taking guard to face Kagiso Rabada.

“If you have half-knowledge, keep your mouth shut,” Pant was heard saying to Rassie, while asking for a leg-stump guard from the umpire.

With Rassie standing a fair distance away from the stumps, only Pant’s portion of the conversation was audible.

“You focus on your cricket, not mine,” Pant continued. “Yeah, I can see you’re not a gentleman”.

The very next ball, Pant received a nasty bouncer from Rabada, that he somehow managed to evade. The chatter continued.

It didn’t take long for the sledging to do its intended work, with Pant dashing down the track of the next ball and gifting an outside edge to the keeper. Many questioned the shot selection, considering the state of the match.

Watch the Pant-Rassie sledging here:

pic.twitter.com/4ThWxKabwF

— Maqbool (@im_maqbool) January 5, 2022