Watch: Rishabh Pant’s Dropped Catches Allow Pucovski to Get Fifty

Pant’s dropped catches allowed the young right-handed opener to put on a crucial partnership with Labuschagne.

File image of Rishabh Pant in a training session. 

Image: PTI

Indian wicket-keeper Rishabh Pant will want to forget Day 1 of the Sydney Test of 2021 very very quickly after he dropped two catches of debutant Will Pucovski, who then went on to score a half century.

Pant’s dropped catches allowed the young right-handed opener to put on a crucial partnership with Marnus Labuschagne.

Australia got to 93/1 at tea on a rain-marred opening day of the third Test at the SCG.

Introduced into the attack after 13 overs as India’s first bowling change, off-spinner Ashwin Ravichandran tempted Pucovski into a drive and the batsman only managed an edge after losing his balance, but Pant failed to hang on to the catch after going at it with hard hands.

Pant spilled one more chance and on that occasion the unlucky bowler was Mohammed Siraj, whose fast and short delivery touched Pucovski’s gloves on his way to the keeper.

Pant was slow to react and didn’t move quick enough initially. He spilled the ball and before managing to grab it on the second attempt, but the ball had hit the ground by then.

(With PTI Inputs)