Rishabh Pant's captaincy was under the microscope on Day 1 of his debut, but India ultimately ended in a strong position with the Proteas on 247/6 at stumps.

India had a new Test captain lead them out onto the field as Rishabh Pant took over the reins in Shubman Gill’s absence. There was bound to be a lot of pressure on Pant in terms of his leadership and tactics, with this being his first international exposure to captaincy – and it got off to a rocky start.

South Africa’s top order batters started well at the ACA Barsapara Stadium in Guwahati, with Pant quickly pivoting to a relatively defensive field in order to contain the scoring on a true batting wicket. With his spinners in operation, the wicketkeeper opted to keep the field spread with not too many close-in fielders.

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