Rassie van der Dussen and Rishabh Pant© AFP
South Africa’s Rassie van der Dussen opened up on his altercation with Rishabh Pant and stated that there “was certainly no hostility” from his side. It all began during the second Test match in Johannesburg when Pant took a catch to dismiss Van der Dussen in the first innings. The dismissal was a controversial one as replays showed that there were inconclusive evidence about the ball going into the Indian wicketkeeper’s gloves cleanly. Then during India’s second innings, van der Dussen was seen having some banter with Pant, who retorted as well. Van der Dussen’s plan worked as Pant went for a big hit but ended up getting dismissed for a three-ball duck.
Speaking to ESPNcricinfo, the 32-year-old said, “It was a moment of me asking Rishabh [Pant] a few questions. Maybe he didn’t enjoy it too much. I’m not sure why. But there was certainly no hostility from my end. Maybe the way he took it – offence is taken and not given. I was at a nice position at short leg. I had access to him in that sense.”
“And I could ask him a few questions. There was never any hostility. And from there, it just sort of blew up. When I went out to bat, they reciprocated quite nicely. It’s part of the game. It’s Test cricket. It’s tough out there, and everyone’s trying to level basically to gain an inch”, he further added.
Promoted
The altercation didn’t just stop during India’s second innings but continued on till the next innings as well. Pant had a lot to say to Van der Dussen when he came out to bat.
India went on to lose the match by seven wickets as South Africa staged a comeback in the series. The Proteas eventually won the final match to clinch the series.
Topics mentioned in this article
