Rishabh Pant mocked for keeping skills after giving TWO lives to Will Pucovski: WATCH

Australian opener and debutant Will Pucovski was reprieved twice by Indian wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant on Day 1 of the India vs Australia 3rd Test at the SCG. Pant dropped two catches within a span of three overs and granted two lifelines to the Australian debutant batsman as India's search for the second wicket continued even after they dismissed David Warner early in the morning on Thursday.

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Twitterati lash out at Rishabh Pant for awarding two lifelines to debutant Will Pucovski

The first chance was created off R Ashwin's bowling on the final delivery of the 22nd over. The Indian spinner bowled a flighted good length delivery which Puckovski tried to defend while expecting the ball to turn. However, the ball remained straight and caught the outside edge of Pucovski's willow and went into Pant's gloves. The Indian stumper failed to hang on to the ball and dropped in what was a regulation take.

Pucovski was riding his luck on debut as he was once again spared by Pant on the last ball of the 25th over bowled by Mohammed Siraj. The Indian speedster bowled a quick bouncer and hurried Pucovski with his pace. The ball brushed Puckovski's gloves and Pant spilt it as he leapt backwards to grab it. The southpaw, however, managed to get hold of the ball in the second attempt but it had already hit the ground by then.

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Pant's back-to-back drops got the Twitterati buzzing. Several reactions poured in as fans mocked Pant for his poor wicket-keeping skills. A certain section of fans also lashed out at Pant for just talking from behind the stumps and not focusing on his job. Here's a look at a few reactions.

India vs Australia live score update

Meanwhile, Australia managed to recover well after losing David Warner early on in the innings. Debutant Will Pucovski and Marnus Labuschagne steadied the ship and brought up a 50-run stand. At the time of publishing this article, Australia's scoreboard read 93/1 with Pucovski batting on 54 and Labuschagne unbeaten on 34. The hosts will want the duo to carry on and lay a solid foundation for the middle order to come and score big. On the other hand, India will want to break the dangerous-looking partnership and restrict Australia to a low total.

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Rishabh Pant career stats

While Pant career stats with the bat in Test cricket are impressive, his wicket-keeping skills have been highly questionable. The southpaw has faced a lot of heat for his below-par glove work. Pant has played 14 Tests where he has scored 843 runs at a decent average of 38.3 with two fifties and as many hundreds to his name. As fas as Pant's wicketkeeping stats in Tests are concerned, the 23-year old has grabbed 63 catches and effected two stumpings.

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SOURCE: CRICKET.COM.AU