• Source:JND

India vs South Africa 1st Test: South Africa's batting coach Ashwell Prince reacted to Jasprit Bumrah and Rishabh Pant's controversial 'bauna' (dwarf) comment on Temba Bavuma on the first day of the first Test against India at the Eden Gardens on Friday.

Prince said that the Proteas will have no discussion over the instance that took place during South Africa’s innings. The visitors had a disappointing day in Kolkata as they were bowled out for just 159 runs in 55 overs in their first innings after opting to bat first. India reached 37/1 in reply and still trail by 122 runs with KL Rahul (13*) and Washington Sundar (6*) at the crease.

During the moment mentioned, Bumrah bowled a nip-backer to Bavuma, who played it down the wrong line and got hit on the back thigh. The pacer, along with other Indian players, appealed for it immediately, but the on-field umpire gave it not-out. Bumrah convened with Rishabh Pant, and while discussing the height of where the ball struck the batter, they referred to him as a 'bauna'.

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The term is usually not considered a big deal for those suffering from dwarfism, but some might find it offensive when used for people who are simply short in height.

"No. There will be no discussion," Prince said at the press conference after the end of the first day. "It’s the first time it’s come to my attention. I don’t think there’ll be any issues with what’s happened," he added.

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This decision remained not-out, but Bavuma eventually got out for 3 (11), losing his wicket to spinner Kuldeep Yadav. "Siraj, in his first spell, did not quite hit his steps," Prince said, assessing his team’s batting performance. "However, he came back in his second spell when he changed ends, and it was pretty good. Found his rhythm and found his line in there. But Bumrah was relentless, and the spinners were pretty good as well. So I think there were quite a few good deliveries, and sometimes there are batters. There’s not a lot you can do about them. We’ve got to work hard. A long way to go in the game. And hopefully, we’ll do better in the second innings."

Bumrah produced a memorable effort with the ball as he ended up taking five wickets for 27 runs in his 14 overs.


India vs South Africa Playing XIs, 1st Test:

India: Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Washington Sundar, Shubman (c), Rishabh Pant (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj

South Africa: Aiden Markram, Ryan Rickelton, Wiaan Mulder, Temba Bavuma (c), Tony de Zorzi, Tristan Stubbs, Kyle Verreynne (wk), Marco Jansen, Corbin Bosch, Simon Harmer, Keshav Maharaj

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