Rain & Rishabh Team India's Biggest Worry At The SCG

IND V AUS | BORDER - GAVASKAR TROPHY | 3RD TEST, SCG
DAY ONE REVIEW

At the end of the first day's play, Team India are left with two watch out signs - rain and Rishabh Pant.

Stand-in captain Ajinkya Rahane, coach Ravi Shastri and the team think tank can take disruptions due to rain in their stride. 

Good day at the lab. 🔬 pic.twitter.com/EkgtYrjhri

— Rishabh Pant (@RishabhPant17) January 5, 2021

Such spoilers have happened previously and if the Sydney rain radar shows further rain on the second and other days of this crucial Test, you may consider this a drawn Test.

Amidst this annoying break in play, Rahane has a fresh worry that the Aussies have identified as a primary tool to use as for their mental disintegration tactic.

India's preferred batsman-first wicketkeeper, Pant, has turned himself into a potent strap for Aussie skipper Tim Paine and his men to use and unsettle India. 

The salvos have begun. Pant first dropped a catch to give debutant Will Pucovski a reprieve when the batsman was on 26. 

This, off the bowling of Ravichandran Ashwin clearly demoralised the bowler as he had worked hard on inducing the batsman to commit the mistake.

However, 18 deliveries later, Pant floored a lob from Pucovski when the batsman was on 32 and the bowler to suffer was one-Test old Mohammed Siraj.

After he had spilled the catch, Pant did not seem to signal that he dropped the ball, resulting in the on field umpires to refer the third umpire.

There's a possibility Pant wouldn't have realised he had gloved a bump ball.

He then continued with his regular chatter behind the stumps.

News.com.au reports that fans have started calling Pant a liar. 

Leaked images of Rishabh Pant's breakfast this morning.#AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/piSauYTzH6

— bet365_aus (@bet365_aus) January 7, 2021

"Temporary wicket-keeper? tweeted @SamLandsberger, an AFL and cricket journalist for the Herald Sun who has 26.3k from the twitterati world following his tweets.

"The things you claim when you *hope* no camera sees what happened..." tweeted Brett McKay from @BMcSport. McKay is a sports producer, reporter, broadcaster with @abccanberra and @abcsport.

It's unlikely Paine and his teammates would pick up this tab and needle the calm, composed Rahane and Team India players anytime during this Test.

They are aware that they have among them two major players, David Warner and Steve Smith, who have spent time in suspension over cheating or aiding use of unfair advantage on the ball during a Test.

All this does not take away Rahane's worry over Pant. Former India player Murali Kartik was scathing in his assessment of Pant's performance from the television studio.

Ricky Ponting, who saw Pant closely as coach of the Delhi Capitals too did not mince words in dismissing Pant's crucial dropped catches as pedestrian.

The most clinical post mortem came from former Aussie wicketkeeper and captain Adam Gilchrist. "Look at the hand position of Rishabh Pant, the way his fingers are pointing, they’re pointing at the ball,” News.com.au quoted Gilchrist. 

“Ideally we want those fingers pointing down towards turf. Hands are apart which are not a good thing. Ideally we want those little fingers together, pointing down and spreading the gloves as wide as possible to have as much surface area and nice and soft as well.

“Hard hands, it hits it and bounces straight out.”

On a rainy day and more than Pucovski's half century on debut, Pant's performance became the topic of debate.

Rahane now has additional pressure to get Ashwin, Siraj and other teammates to forget the first day as a bad day at the SCG and ensure India win most sessions on the second day should there be play and not rain.

Any hint of negativity from India is likely to be pounced upon by the Aussies.