"Literally blind slogger!" - Furious fans slam Rishabh Pant after another failure in 3rd IND vs SA 2022 T20I

Rishabh Pant and his men once again couldn't quite put up a convincing showing with the bat as India ended up with 179/5 in the third T20I against South Africa at Visakhapatnam on Tuesday, June 14.

Half-centuries from Ruturaj Gaikwad and Ishan Kishan set the platform up beautifully for others to follow. However, Shreyas Iyer (14 off 11) and Rishabh Pant (six off eight) continued to struggle.

Things slowed down dramatically for the hosts and Hardik Pandya's late hits (31* off 21) ensured India had a respectable total on what looked like a sensational batting wicket.

Fans on Twitter slammed Pant for once again not making the most of his opportunity. Some even felt that he doesn't deserve to be an automatic pick for the T20 World Cup.

Here are some of the reactions:

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Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant failed to make full use of the platform set by openers

Ishan Kishan, who normally takes on bowlers in the powerplay, decided to play second-fiddle to Ruturaj Gaikwad this time. The 25-year-old stormed out of the blocks and hit Anrich Nortje for five consecutive boundaries in an over.

Gaikwad gave Kishan some time to settle in as the right-hander brought up his maiden half-century in T20Is. After Gaikwad was dismissed, Kishan took the attack to the spinners and ensured India kept on scoring at a fair rate.

But once both openers were dismissed, the new batters such as Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant and Hardik Pandya found it difficult to adjust to the pace of the pitch. Iyer was caught at square leg trying to sweep, while Pant was caught at mid-off as he tried to play across the line.

With Dinesh Karthik too failing to apply the finishing touches, the hosts definitely fell 15-20 runs short. The bowlers will need to step up and take early wickets if they want to stop this in-form South African batting brigade from winning the series in the third T20I itself.