Opener Will Pucovski hit 62 in his first red Test match as Australia had a better day to open the third Test against India.
Highly rated 22-year-old Pucovski impressed until he was trapped lbw by fellow debutant Navdeep Saini.
Marnus Labuschagne ended a rain-shortened day 67 not out in Sydney as Australia closed on 166-2.
Steve Smith was not out of 31 – his best points in the series – but David Warner fell for five on his injury return.
Pucovski was sent off twice by Indian goalkeeper Rishabh Pant – 26 and 32 – but looked confused, scoring goals freely on both sides of the wicket after the patient’s start.
As a long-time champion as the star of the future Test, right-handed work has been hampered by mental health issues and a series of conflicts – both related to cricket and more.
He met Labuschagne at the 100th stop after Warner combined the first drive to slide into the fourth over.
Labuschange added a 60-point unbeaten run with Smith as both sides look to take the lead in the four-match series currently competing in a 1-1 draw.
WAbout Will Pucovski
Scored a record-breaking 650 runs in a domestic state Under-19 competition in 2016, averaging 162.50 with four consecutive centuries.
Made his first-class debut aged 18 and hit 188 from 414 balls aged 20 – his maiden first-class hundred.
In 2018, became ninth player to score a double century in the Sheffield Shield before his 21st birthday.
Progress has been slowed by nine concussions, the first of which was suffered in a game of Australian Rules Football as a teenager. Other concussions have been when hit by a bouncer, struck in the field and when diving to complete a run while batting.
Took a break from cricket in 2018 for mental health reasons and did so again in 2019 after receiving his first Test call-up.
Returned to cricket and toured England in 2019 alongside the Australia Ashes and World Cup squads but made himself unavailable for selection against Pakistan in 2019 to again manage his mental health.
Scored back-to-back double centuries this season for Victoria.
Jim Maxwell’s Analysis
“Pucovski played with great confidence and was calm and impressive the way he stood up and played in line.
“He was a little lucky but he was not very lucky 18 months ago with various things that happened to his cricket.
“He looks like a player with real talent. He had a lot of time to play his shots and the many boundaries he scored today have shown that this is the most special player we are watching.
“It was a big day for him and he gave a very impressive interview at the end of the day. The kid has got his head screwed on, he’s nice and balanced and engaging in what he does, so I think we’re seeing the start of a pretty strong career potentially.”
