Yashasvi Jaiswal 0, KL Rahul 1, Rishabh Pant 2: India fail to chase 124 against South Africa at Eden Gardens

Yashasvi Jaiswal 0, KL Rahul 1, Rishabh Pant 2: India fail to chase 124 against South Africa at Eden Gardens

Temba Bavuma-led South Africa defeated India by 30 runs in the first of the two-match Test series at Eden Gardens in Kolkata. The Proteas skipper did a brilliant job as he led the team from the front with the bat and bowlers did rest of the work. He dug deep and scored an unbeaten 55 in the second innings to help South Africa set India a 124-run target, which eventually proved to be a daunting ask.

India in response never appeared settled and managed 93/9, with Shubman Gill not walking out to bat due to a neck spasm that he sustained while batting in the first essay on Saturday.

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India lost Yashasvi Jaiswal for 0, getting caught-behind against Marco Jansen. The pacer then packed KL Rahul for 1, who too was caught-behind after failing to deal with the extra bounce.

Washington Sundar and Dhruv Jurel took India to 10/2 at Lunch. The pair continued the resistance in second session until a big hit by Jurel off Simon Harmer's bowling went straight into the throat of Corbin Bosch positioned in deep and the fielder made no mistakes collecting it.

Rishabh Pant walked in and went for an audacious reverse sweep, which he failed to connect as the ball rolled over his arms before being collected by the wicketkeeper. The Proteas opted for a review, which turned out to be unsuccessful. However, the visitors keep building pressure on Pant and he eventually perished against Simon Harmer, who got him out caught and bowled for 2. The spinner then trapped Ravindra Jadeja LBW for 18 as tailenders joined Axar Patel in the middle.

With hope shrinking, Axar opted for big returns and smashed Keshav Mahraj for a boundary, and a couple of sixes. However, it led to his dismissal for 26 as a mistimed shot ballooned up in the air and was brilliantly caught by the skipper Bavuma. Following the dismissal, Maharaj dismissed Mohammed Siraj in the next ball for a golden duck to seal the match for the Proteas.

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This is the second lowest target successfully defended in a Test played in India, raising questions on the nature of the surface, which drew criticism from a few former cricketers. Reflecting his thoughts on the same, Pant speaking at the post-match presentation said: "There was help on the wicket, a score like 120 can be tricky, but as a team we should be able to soak in the pressure and capitalise."

India head coach Gautam Gambhir also echoed similar views on the pitch, stating there were "no demons" in it and the outcome was due to a collective failure.