'That's a poor piece of keeping, not to get anything on it' - Ricky Ponting disappointed with Wriddhiman Saha's keeping tactics

Former Australia skipper Ricky Ponting has taken a shot at Wriddhiman Saha’s wicketkeeping technique after a poor effort from the India star during the ongoing Adelaide Test. Time and again, Saha has been hailed by India skipper Virat Kohli and head coach Ravi Shastri as the best wicketkeeper in the world. The reason behind the high praise for the Bengal star is his consistent impressive performance behind the stumps.

However, Saha made an uncharacteristic mistake on day two of the ongoing game. The incident took place in the 15th over when Marnus Labuschagne edged a Jasprit Bumrah delivery behind the stumps. Facing just his third delivery and yet to open his account, Labuschagne was all squared up while trying to defend the ball without much of a footwork.

The ball took a thick edge off the bat and flew behind the stumps. However, the right-handed batsman got a reprieve as neither Saha nor Cheteshwar Pujara who was standing at first slip could catch the ball . Saha had made a full stretch dive but could not even touch the ball as it went for a four. And, Ponting was not at all impressed with the display.

The legendary batsman, who is covering the series as a commentator, called it poor from Saha to not get his hands on the ball, saying: “That’s a poor piece of keeping, not to get anything on it.”

"That's a poor piece of keeping, not to get anything on it." – Ricky Ponting

Saha dives over the top of a Labuschagne edge… #AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/dEpGdGinmH

— 7Cricket (@7Cricket) December 18, 2020

Ricky Ponting surprised with Pant’s omission:

Earlier, Ricky Ponting had also expressed his surprise over Wriddhiman Saha getting the nod ahead of Rishabh Pant in the playing eleven for the ongoing game. Pant had scored a 73-ball ton in the second tour game while Saha was out for a duck. However, Team India went with their veteran wicketkeeper for the crucial series-opener, much to the surprise of Ricky Ponting.

“I’m surprised [that Rishabh Pant wasn’t picked]. I think he’s a terrific young player, X-factor about him with the bat. Probably, not as good a keeper as [Wriddhiman] Saha and that’s probably the reason they’ve left him out,” Ricky Ponting had said while commentating on day one of the Test.