India vs South Africa: Pant will improve; bowlers let him down in 1st T20I, says Bhuvneshwar

Bhuvneshwar Kumar has backed Rishabh Pant to do well better as captain in the remainder of the five-match T20I series against South Africa.

Pant, who is the stand-in skipper after Rohit Sharma was rested and KL Rahul ruled out with a groin injury, kickstarted his stint as India captain with a loss in the first T20I earlier this week.

The wicketkeeper-batsman had a forgettable first outing as India's captain as his bowlers even struggled with their line and length. Acknowledging the poor performance from the bowling department, Bhuvneshwar said that "the captain is as good as the team" and it is the bowlers who let Pant down in the opening T20I in Delhi.

Despite posting 211 for 4 in 20 overs, India ended up on the losing side as the Proteas sealed the game by seven wickets to go 1-0 up in the five-match series.

"He's a young captain and it was his first match. I'm sure he will try to do better and improve as the series progresses. Generally, the captain is as good as the team and it's a team effort. Our bowling did not go off well and let him down. If we did well, then you would have hailed his decision-making skills. I'm sure he will do well," Bhuvenshwar said in the pre-match conference on Saturday.

While Bhuvneshwar did not speak much about his team's dismal show with the ball at the Ferozshah Kotla, he was instead optimistic of bouncing back in the second match.

In the absence of Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami, Bhuvneshwar is leading the Indian pace attack in the ongoing T20I series. While he picked up a wicket in the first game, he proved to be very expensive, giving away 43 runs in four overs.

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"There wasn't any big discussion as anyone can have an off day. As a bowling unit, we had an off day but that's okay we just want to come back in the next match. It was the first match of the series and everybody was coming out of the IPL, almost everyone on the team had a good IPL. Everyone knows what needs to be done and things to improve on.

"We are aware that we didn't bowl well in the first match. So we hope to improve, bowl well, and level the series. We still have four matches to go, we have matches in our hands to bounce back," added Bhuvneshwar in the same conference.

In the first T20I, the Men in Blue fielded a new-look pace attack in Bhuvneshwar, Harshal Patel, and Avesh Khan. However, each of them failed to trouble the spirited South Africans.

Want to improve before going into T20 World Cup, says Bhuvneshwar Kumar

Bhuvneshwar went on to say that it's about taking responsibility and improving in every match ahead of the T20 World Cup, which is scheduled to be held in Australia in October-November.

"My target is not any different. I just have to bowl in the same way as in the power play or in the death overs. Yes, in absence of them, I try to take up responsibility, and focus on improving in every match before going to the T20 World Cup," said Bhuvneshwar.

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The second T20I between India and South Africa is on Sunday (June 12) at Barabati Stadium, Cuttack.