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Pair of Pant drops shows he has work to do: Ponting

Former Australia captain says Will Pucovski 'could potentially be a 10- or 12-year player for Australia' after watching the day one action

Rishabh Pant may have bolstered India's batting order but it remains clear he was work to do on his wicketkeeping after giving Australia debutant Will Pucovski two lives on day one of the third Vodafone Test in Sydney.

Pant dropped Pucovski twice during the rain-reduced middle session, first from the bowling of off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin and then a juggling effort three overs later to deny fast bowler Mohammed Siraj a wicket.

Pucovski was put down on 26 and 32 respectively, with his second reprieve requiring the third umpire to confirm the ball had hit the turf before Pant had taken the catch on the second attempt.

Pucovski also survived a botched run-out attempt before he was dismissed for 62, out lbw to fellow debutant Navdeep Saini, but those missed chances have provided Pant's critics with extra ammunition.

Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting called for Pant's inclusion when the Indian was overlooked for Wriddhiman Saha for the series opener, citing Pant's superior, positive batting that he said outweighed his deficiencies with the gloves.

The 23-year-old replaced Saha for the second match at the MCG, taking four catches and scoring an up-tempo 29 in the series-levelling win.

But on Thursday, Ponting said Pant should have swallowed those chances and that his work behind the stumps needs improving.  

"The one's (dropped catches) today are two that should be taken, simple as that," Ponting told cricket.com.au.

"It's probably lucky for Rishabh that Pucovski didn't go on and make a big hundred or a double hundred and looking at the wicket, it looks like an unbelievable surface.

"I'm sure when Rishabh put those catches down, he would have thought the worst and 'here we go, he's really going to make me pay' but (Pucovski) didn't today.

"I've said it all along, the knock on Rishabh is always going to be on his keeping.

"Since his debut in Test cricket, he's dropped more catches than any other keeper in the world. That highlights he has got some work to do with his keeping."

Pant's missed opportunities allowed Pucovski to post a maiden half-century on debut, the Victorian looking right at home at Test level.

Image Id: 2F84C01D836E4B0D83ED170E8F009766 Image Caption: Pant spills the first of two chances offered by Pucovski // Getty

The right-hander faced 100 balls in two-and-a-half hours at the crease either side of a frustrating rain delay.

Ponting said he had not seen a lot of Pucovski play in person but was impressed by the 22-year-old's temperament.

"The thing I liked most was his composure," Ponting said. "He looked really composed, he didn't look overawed at all.

"He looked like he trusted his game, trusted his defence early on against some good fast bowling and just before the tea break started to expand his game a little bit; (he played) some nice cut shots, back-foot punches and some nice pull shots.

Pucovski impresses with composed 62 on Test debut

"It's a great start.

"He'll be disappointed, no doubt, that he didn't really cash in and make a big score. But at the same time I think he'll be quite content knowing he's got a game that can stand up at Test level.

"We'll all keep our fingers crossed and hope that he stays fit and healthy because he could potentially be a 10- or 12-year player for Australia."

Vodafone Test Series v India 2020-21

Australia Test squad: Tim Paine (c), Sean Abbott, Pat Cummins, Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Moises Henriques, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Michael Neser, James Pattinson, Will Pucovski, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Swepson, Matthew Wade, David Warner

India Test squad: Ajinkya Rahane (captain), Rohit Sharma (vice-captain), Mayank Agarwal, Prithvi Shaw, Cheteshwar Pujara, Hanuma Vihari, Shubman Gill, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Rishabh Pant (wk), Jasprit Bumrah, Navdeep Saini, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Mohammed Siraj, Shardul Thakur, Thangarasu Natarajan

First Test: Australia won by eight wickets

Second Test: India won by eight wickets

Third Test: January 7-11, SCG, 10.30am AEDT

Fourth Test: January 15-19, Gabba, 11am AEDT