South Africa assistant coach Ashwell Prince dismissed any possibility of internal escalation after Jasprit Bumrah and Rishabh Pant’s “bauna” reference involving captain Temba Bavuma on Day 1 of the first Test at Eden Gardens. The incident surfaced during the 13th over when Bumrah hit Bavuma on the back thigh with a nip-backer. While discussing the appeal, Bumrah and Pant were heard referring to the South African captain as a “bauna”, triggering debate over language usage on the field. The term is often associated with dwarfism, though it may be viewed as offensive when directed at shorter individuals. Prince, however, made the team’s stance clear. At the press briefing he said, “No. There will be no discussion. It’s the first time it’s come to my attention. I don’t think there’ll be any issues with what’s happened." South Africa’s batting collapse shaped the day’s narrative. Bavuma, earlier declared not out during the height-based discussion, fell for 3 off 11 to Kuldeep Yadav. The visitors were dismissed for 159 in 55 overs, leaving India at 37/1 at stumps, trailing by 122 runs. The coach acknowledged the quality of India’s bowling through the opening exchanges. Read also: Reports: Liam Livingstone Among Four RCB Players Set to Be Released Prince reviews SA’s batting struggles, highlights Bumrah’s precision Prince assessed how his batters coped with India’s attack across multiple spells. He said, “Siraj, in his first spell, did not quite hit his steps. 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.” He reserved stronger appreciation for Bumrah’s sustained pressure. “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’s batters. There’s not a lot you can do about them.” Prince underlined that the team must respond better. “We’ve got to work hard. A long way to go in the game. And hopefully, we’ll do better in the second innings.”