“Rishabh Pant made a small mistake”: Former Indian star Yuzvendra Chahal unexpectedly beat only 2 in the first T20I vs South Africa

India’s 12-match winning streak in its shortest form came to an end after they lost to South Africa in the first T20I of a five-match series at Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi on Thursday. India failed to defend the target of 212 Rassie van der Dussen and David Miller played sensational hits to bring South Africa home. While analyzing the game, former Indian commentator Ashish Nehra ask captain india Rishabh Pantdecided to use Yuzvendra Chahal with only 2.1 rounds.

“First, the other team chased the goal of 212 runs and Yuzvendra Chahal only threw two passes. Not that he missed 22 runs in one more. You keep seeing that the runs are flowing. So it’s quite surprising to see a bowler ball like the Chahal bowl only have two excesses,” Nehra said on Cricbuzz.

“Even if you’re looking at a right-left combination, you should give the ball to Chahal, especially considering the fact that you gave up two to Axar at the time,” he added.

Nehra, who coached the Gujarat Titans to the IPL 2022 title, also said that Pant missed a trick or two by not bringing in Chahal while Miller and van der Dussen were easily crossing the line.

“There comes a point when you think that even though we didn’t use wickets we managed to stop the line from running. However, when Miller starts to hit the boundary and the equation drops to 11 or 12 RPOs, you so ‘brought Chahal in. That’s where I think Rishabh Pant made a small mistake,'” he said.

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van der Dussen and Miller remained unbeaten at 75 (46) and 64 (31), respectively, as South Africa chased a total of seven hits and five spare balls.

The second T20I will be played at Barabati Stadium in Cuttack on Sunday, June 12.