Will have conversation with Rishabh Pant on timing of his shots: Rahul Dravid

Johannesburg: India head coach Rahul Dravid said that he will have a conversation with Rishabh Pant, advising the wicketkeeper-batter to time his shots.

Pant was dismissed on a duck off Kagiso Rabada in India's second innings against South Africa. He went for the wild slog but got the outside edge and Kyle Verreynne took an easy catch behind stumps. Pant's careless shot led to former cricketer Sunil Gavaskar fuming in the commentary box.

"Rishabh is a positive player and he plays in a particular manner which has gotten him success. We will have a conversation with him. It is just about the timing of that shot," said Dravid in a virtual press conference on Thursday.

"No one is going to tell Rishabh not to be an aggressive player. Sometimes it is about choosing the timing to do that. When you have just come in, giving yourself some more time would be more advisable. We know what we are getting with Rishabh.

"He is someone who can change the course of the game for us, so we won't take that away from him and ask him to become something very different. It is about figuring out when is the right time to attack. He is learning, he plays in a particular way but he will keep improving."

Dean Elgar's unbeaten knock of 96 helped South Africa not only beat India by seven wickets in the second Test, but level 1-1 the three-match series.

Elgar continued to be a thorn in India's flesh and took the match from the visitor's hand after getting support from Rassie van der Dussen and Temba Bavuma on the other end on a rain-hit Day 4.

"Pitches have been challenging for both teams. But yes, we pride ourselves on wanting to do better. We probably could've gotten 60-70 runs in the first innings, need to convert starts. It's important for one of your batters to go on and score big," said Dravid.

"I don't think we were complacent at any stage in this game. We were in it till the last stage. With a little bit of luck we would've had a much better chance. But we certainly weren't complacent.

"We came here knowing we'll have to do something special to get those eight wickets. We probably rely on swing a lot and that was tough since the ball was wet. But credit to South Africa for playing really well," added the head coach.

When asked whether Hanuma Vihari will be overlooked in the third and final Test when Virat Kohli returns to lead, Dravid dodged the question and said that waiting for chances is the nature of sport.

"I think Vihari played well in both innings. He batted beautifully in both the innings. Shreyas (Iyer) has played well when he got a chance too (against New Zealand).

"It's just about waiting for their chances... that's just the nature of the sport. Seniors too had to wait for their chances. Vihari's performance gives us a lot of confidence," said Dravid.

India suffered a major blow during the close of the first day of the second Test when Mohammed Siraj hobbled off the field after what seemed like he had pulled up his hamstring. The fast bowler bowled on Day 3 for the first time after returning to the ground.

"Siraj hasn't recovered completely from the injury yet. We'll have to monitor him over the next few days," Dravid signed off. (UNI)