2021-01-07 10:26:41
SYDNEY: Rishabh Pant dropped two catches in the third Test against Australia on Thursday, giving further ammunition to detractors who say he should be dropped as India’s Test wicketkeeper in favour of Wriddhiman Saha.
Since Pant’s Test debut in 2018, India have faced the dilemma whether to pick 36-year-old Saha, considered technically the best glovesman in India, or Pant who is far more flamboyant with the bat.
Pant’s keeping has been under constant scrutiny and the stumper dropped Australia’s debutant opener Will Pucovski twice on the rain-hit opening day of the third Test to renew that debate.
Pucovski was on 26 when he edged Ravichandran Ashwin but Pant, standing up to the off-spinner, spilled the catch.
The opener had added another six runs to his tally when he gloved a short delivery from Mohammed Siraj and Pant scurried back and leapt but could not complete the catch.
Saha kept wickets in the first Test in Adelaide but Pant replaced him in Melbourne and has retained his place in Sydney.
Pant averages 0.86 dropped catches per Test played since 2018, which is worst among all the keepers who have played 10 matches in that time, according to CricViz, which specialises in cricket data analysis.
Pant’s catch success percentage against spin (56%) is significantly lower than against pace (93%), it said.
The wicketkeeper was trolled on social media after his slip-ups but team mate Siraj offered words of consolation.
“It’s part of the game, we all drop catches,” Siraj said.
“Bowlers do get a little frustrated when catches are dropped but you can’t help it.”
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In Pics: Will Pucovski’s charmed life on Test debut, Rishabh Pant dropped him twice
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A couple of dropped chances along with a missed run out opportunity highlighted the first two sessions on a rain-hit Day 1 of the Pink Test in Sydney. (Getty Images)
Debutant Will Pucovski lived a charmed life as India keeper Rishabh Pant dropped him twice, providing the 22-year-old much-needed luck on his Test debut. (Getty Images)
Pucovski was first dropped off R Ashwin on 26 in the 22nd over when Pant spilled a straightforward chance behind the stumps. Taking the outside edge of Pucovski’s bat, the ball went straight to Pant. Going in hard at the ball, Pant failed to hold on to it, giving Pucovski his first reperive. (Getty Images)
Then in the 26th over, Pucovski top edged a bouncer from Mohd Siraj as the ball ballooned. Running backward, keeper Pant dived to grab the ball but spilled it in the first attempt. Going in for it again, Pant failed to keep the ball above the ground as replays confirmed that the ball had touched the grass, between Pant’s hands. Pucovski was on 32 at that time. (AFP photo)
In the 29th over, Pucovski got lucky for the third time, surviving a mix-up with his partner Marnus Labuschagne. After hitting the ball through covers off Mohd Siraj, Pucovski went for a third run but was sent back by Labuschagne. A dive by Pucovski at the right time eventually helped him get inside the crease at the striker’s end. (AFP photo)
Surviving two dropped chances and a run out opportunity, Pucovski finally reached his fifty on Test debut off 97-balls as Australia got to 93/1 at Tea on Day 1. After the break debutant Pucovski fell to another debutant, India’s Navdeep Saini for 62 off 110 balls. (AFP photo)
Former India stumper Parthiv Patel detected a flaw in Pant’s technique against spinners.
“He was trying to catch with hard hands,” Patel, who played 25 Tests and 38 ODIs between 2002-2018, told Cricbuzz website.
“On a difficult track like this, you have to try and catch with soft hands. Also, your fingers should point downwards, and not forward,” Patel added.
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