India vs Australia, 3rd Test: Rishabh Pant's wicketkeeping skills criticised again as he drops Pucovski twice

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Sydney, Jan 7: India wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant had a nightmarish start on the opening day of the third Test against Australia on Thursday (January 7) at Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG). The 23-year-old dropped a couple of catches to give debutant Will Pucovski a couple of reprieves.

Pant first failed to grab a faint-edge of Pucovski off R Ashwin's delivery. Pant - who is always under scrutiny for his poor wicketkeeping skills against spinners - failed to pouch the ball as it hit the edge of his gloves and deflected. Batting on 26, Pucovski played for the turn from Ashwin, but the ball kept straight and induced an outside edge but Pant failed to latch onto it. Ashwin looked disappointed, and he had all the reason to be for it was a regulation catch in international cricket.

Two overs later, Pant gave Pucovski second breather and gave the right-handed batsman another chance when he was batting on 32. The batsman - who has struggled against short-pitched deliveries considering his history with concussions - was surprised by a short-pitched bouncer from Mohammed Siraj and the ball hit his gloves and flew behind the stumps.

Pant ran backwards and dived to catch the ball but wobbled it in the air. The wicketkeeper again tried to pouch the ball but it grassed before the glovesman collected it. The on-field umpire went upstairs to check if the catch was clear and the ultra-slow-motion confirmed the catch wasn't clean and over-turned the on-field umpire's decision.

Buoyed with the lucky chances, Pucovski went on to make his debut special as he went on slamming his maiden half-century. The right-handed batsman hit back-to-back boundaries off debutant Navdeep Saini to get to his maiden fifty.

Earlier in the day, Australia captain Tim Paine won the toss at the SCG and elected to bat first but the hosts had a disastrous start when their star opener David Warner was caught at second slip for 5. But Pucovski (54*) along with Marnus Labuschagne (34*) steadied the Aussie ship and forged a fifty-run stand. At the tea break, Australia reached 93/1 in 31 overs.