After a couple of missed opportunities, young Australian batsman Will Pucovski finally made his Test debut against India on Thursday at the Sydney Cricket Ground. The 22-year-old cricketer played an impressive 62-run knock before getting trapped in the front by right-arm pacer Navdeep Saini, who also made his debut for India in whites.
Pucovski stood strong against the Indian attack and anchored the Australian innings after his opening partner – David Warner – fell prey to Mohammed Siraj. He cherished the ‘incredible experience’ on the opening day of the third Test.
During the post-match virtual presser, Pucovski, who missed out on first two Tests due to concussion-related issues, said that he has been through a ‘lot of hard yards’ to witness this day in his life.
“It was a pretty incredible experience. It’s meant everything to be honest, that I am putting in a lot of hard yards on and off the field, hopeful that this day would come and it was a very special day,” Pucovski said.
Speaking about the Indian attack, Pucovski singled out Ashwin as the bowler who he thought was challenging due to the variations he uses.
“They (Indian bowlers) are all very good. Playing your first game, I would say Ashwin, probably, is the one who is the most unique in a way. Obviously (Jasprit) Bumrah has his unique action but Ashwin just with his different variations and how he uses the same to sort of bowl. But yes, his little-different variations, was something that I hadn’t really experienced before, so that was quite challenging,” said Pucovski.
{{/usCountry}}“They (Indian bowlers) are all very good. Playing your first game, I would say Ashwin, probably, is the one who is the most unique in a way. Obviously (Jasprit) Bumrah has his unique action but Ashwin just with his different variations and how he uses the same to sort of bowl. But yes, his little-different variations, was something that I hadn’t really experienced before, so that was quite challenging,” said Pucovski.
{{/usCountry}}During his stint at the crease with Marnus Labuschagne (67*), Puckovski became the youngest Australian cricketer to score a fifty on debut. The youngster is pretty much confident that the hosts will dominate the match.
“It was a very nice batting wicket. I am very hopeful that with the amount of batting in the team now and what we have got to come, we can post a really good total and then with the world-class attack that we have put them (India) under the pump, hopefully, dominate the game,” he said.