Jaiswal leaves Rohit furious with three drop catches on day four of MCG Test

Yashasvi Jaiswal, who is generally one of the safest fielders and catchers in the Indian team, has dropped three catches on day four of the fourth Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. 

Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne and Pat Cummins were all given one reprieve each on December 29 (Sunday), and it could cost India big time despite yet another masterclass from ace paceman Jasprit Bumrah.

The right-arm paceman claimed four wickets in the first two sessions of day four and has kept India alive in the contest, but things could have been much better for the visiting side if Jaiswal hadn’t dropped those three catches.  

It all started with Jaiswal dropping Khawaja on the fifth delivery of the third over. The Indian opener was standing at leg gully and Khawaja timed it straight to him. Jaiswal was slightly too close and the ball came at a good pace at a catchable height. 

He did well to get both his hands on the ball, but it busted through. Khawaja was on 3 and then went on to score 21 before getting knocked over by Mohammed Siraj. 

Bumrah then wreaked havoc and reduced Australia to 91/6, with Marnus Labuschagne being the only frontline batter at the crease. The opportunity did come to dismiss him on the second delivery of the 40th over, with Australia’s score reading 99/6, but Jaiswal once again ended up making a mess of it.

The Australian No.3 was undone by a bit of extra bounce from Akash Deep. The right-hander opened the face of the bat and guided it straight to Jaiswal at gully, who once again failed to grab the catch. Indian captain Rohit Sharma couldn’t hide his frustration, and it only got worse when Jaiswal let another one go, this time at a silly point.

Screenshot Courtesy: Twitter/Disney Hotstar

There was another chance in the 49th over, with Cummins defending one uppishly to silly point, but Jaiswal wasn’t low enough and let the ball pass between his legs. Ravindra Jadeja wasn’t impressed, and neither was Rohit, who later replaced Jaiswal with KL Rahul at silly point in the third session.

The partnership between Labuschagne and Cummins is now over 40, and Australia’s lead is inching towards 250.

(Image credit - Twitter)