Watch: Comedy of errors as Rishabh Pant collides with two players, survives close run-out in IND vs SA 1st T20I

Pant, who made his captaincy debut after KL Rahul was ruled out of the series, would have perished for a duck if debutant Tristian Stubbs had hurled a direct hit.

A mix-up with Shreyas Iyer almost led to Rishabh Pant's dismissal before the India captain survived a close run-out against South Africa in the Twenty20 series opener at Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi. Pant, who made his captaincy debut after KL Rahul was ruled out of the series, would have perished for a duck if debutant Tristian Stubbs had hurled a direct hit instead of lobbing the ball over the sticks.

Rishabh Pant in action against South Africa in 1st T20I (Twitter)

It all happened in the 14th over when Iyer nudged it towards short mid-wicket and Pant hurriedly went for a single. The India captain, however, bumped into bowler Kagiso Rabada, who moved to right in his followthrough. The drama continued with Pant colliding with fielder Stubbs as well.

Pant eventually returned to the crease while the ball flew over the stumps. The Indian seemed in discomfort after the collision and Rabada eventually gave him a hand.

Pant would go on to hit 29 and put together 46 runs off 18 balls with Hardik Pandya, who shifted gears towards the end. The flamboyant Baroda all-rounder notched up unbeaten 31 off 12 balls as India finished with a flourish in their bid for a record 13th successive T20I victory.

The imposing total, however, didn't affect David Miller and Rassie van der Dussen, who put on 131 for the fourth wicket to drive the team's chase of 212 in 19.1 overs. South Africa achieved their highest T20 run chase to end India's juggernaut in the shortest format and go 1-0 up in the five-game series.

Rassie Van der Dussen hit 71 not out off 45 while Miller gathered unbeaten 64 off 31 deliveries as the pair turned the game on its head.

Fresh from the IPL spell, Van der Dussen played just three matches for Rajasthan Royals this edition but Miller remained key for Gujarat Titans' highly-successful campaign. The 'Killer' Miller gathered 481 runs in 16 innings as the IPL newbies claimed the title in debut season.

"Myself having watched a lot of IPL games, having not got much of an opportunity to play, (I) had a pretty good idea what their bowlers would do and the conditions (at hand)," Van der Dussen told reporters after the game.

"I spent two month here, been in the conditions, been in the heat, so had acclimatised to that and that goes to everyone. We had a lot of guys in the IPL this year and that's helped us in the first game to adapt quicker and get over the line."