During the Fourth day of the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne, India had a good second session but it could have been so much better had Jaiswal taken the catches offered by Labuschagne and Cummins. India have dropped three catches today and Jaiswal the culprit all three times. The catches were although not too hard to grab and being one of the best fielders on the side has really put up the question, what was wrong with him? Jaiswal has contributed with the bat with 82 runs in the first innings when he was runout due to miscommunication with Virat Kohli on the other end.

1st Drop

During the 2nd over, A crucial chance went begging as Jaiswal failed to hold onto a sharp catch at leg gully. Bumrah’s full delivery, angling towards the pads, drew a firm flick from Khawaja with the full face of his bat. Despite getting both hands to the ball and positioning himself low, Jaiswal, stationed quite close to the bat, couldn’t complete the catch as the ball burst through his fingers. The pace of the shot and his proximity to the batsman left him with minimal reaction time to secure what would have been a significant breakthrough.

Also Read: 200 Test Wickets For Jasprit Bumrah, Enters The Elite Club With R Ashwin And Kapil Dev

Yashasvi Jaiswal drops a sharp but straight catch of Usman Khawaja.

🇦🇺 are leading by 105 runs in the 1st innings#INDvsAUS #AUSvIND #AUSvINDIA #BGT2024 pic.twitter.com/pB6HkiwSX4

— 𝑫𝒊𝒈𝒗𝒊𝒋𝒂𝒚 𝑺𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒉 🇮🇳 (@Stroke0Genius41) December 28, 2024

2nd Drop

During the 39th over that could prove pivotal, Jaiswal squandered what seemed a straightforward catching opportunity at gully off Akash Deep’s bowling. Labuschagne’s loose shot, guiding a back-of-length delivery around off stump, created the kind of chance fielders typically practice before play. Despite the comfortable height and pace – almost identical to a pre-match catching drill – Jaiswal, usually reliable in that position, couldn’t hold onto the ball. It was an uncharacteristic lapse from the fielder who has established himself as a safe pair of hands in that region, and given Labuschagne’s stature, the missed chance could come at a significant cost to the Indian team.

Also Read: India’s Boxing Day Test Centurions Other Than Nitish Kumar Reddy, See FULL List

Reaction of Rohit Sharma after Yashasvi Jaiswal dropped a catch.

In his 8 years of captaincy, I have never seen Virat Kohli react like this. This is why Rohit still prays to be 0.1% as good of a leader as Virat. pic.twitter.com/3vLmpOfoB3

— Harshit (@spiral_craver) December 29, 2024

3rd Drop

During the 48th over Jadeja bowls to Cummins, who defends the ball with a slightly uppish push towards silly point. A huge chance goes begging as Jaiswal fails to hold onto what was admittedly a difficult catch. The young fielder was caught in an awkward position – rising up when he should have stayed low. Though it wasn’t an easy opportunity, these are the kinds of catches that need to be taken in Test cricket. Captain Rohit Sharma at slip can’t hide his frustration at the missed chance.

Yashasvi Jaiswal has dropped 3 easy catches in this inning so far, shame on Virat Kohli. if Virat is to be blamed for brainless running of Jaiswal then Virat should be blamed for catches dropped by Jaiswal too!
Indian fans hate Virat for everything! pic.twitter.com/2hoxFdqUBc

— Shrawan (@Amock0123) December 29, 2024