India’s sloppy fielding in this Test series has rubbed off onto Australia.
Despite two blinding catches from wicketkeeper Brad Haddin, the home side has been unusually careless so far in the Boxing Day match.
Top-scoring Indian batsman Virat Kohli admitted he was surprised the Australians had been so poor in the field.
And Australian paceman Ryan Harris admitted they were well below par.
“It could have been a totally different day,” Harris said after day three.
“That is the disappointing thing, if we had taken our chances it could have been totally different.
“We have got pretty high standards with our fielding and that was pretty disappointing the way we fielded today.”
Haddin bookended day three with a great catch to dismiss Cheteshwar Pujara on the second ball of the morning, then another superb dive to dismiss Kohli from the last delivery of the day.
But Haddin dropped Pujara late on day two and perhaps should have taken a crucial chance that Shane Watson dropped at first slip when Kohli was on 88.
Australia had just taken the second new ball and were creating plenty of pressure.
But Kohli went on to make 169.
Off-spinner Nathan Lyon was also wasteful, grassing a straightforward caught-and-bowled chance off Ajinkya Rahane when he was 70.
Rahane similarly made the Australians pay for the life, going on to score 147.
“A 10-year-old could have caught that,” scolded veteran Channel Nine commentator Bill Lawry after Lyon’s miss.
Peter Siddle also dropped a chance from Lokesh Rahul, but the newcomer immediately lost his wicket with a rash shot.
Generally, it was a far cry from the slick fielding that normally defines the Australian team.
“They have set very high standards in the field,” Kohli said.
“Today was surprising to see them drop three catches, have so many misfields and have so many easy singles for us.
“I don’t remember the last time I’ve seen them be inconsistent in the field.
“They have very high standards with slip catching and ground fielding – it might just be one of those off days.”
