Day 3 in Melbourne was set to be an iconic Rishabh Pant as the wicketkeeper-batter was back playing for India in the ongoing fourth Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test match on Saturday. But things didn’t go according to plan as he fell into the deep after a wayward rise, adding to India’s difficulties. In response to Australia’s first innings total of 474, he was on 28 when the visitors were 191/5, and ended up playing a complete toss from Scott Boland in a fairly poor attempt as he tried to get the ball but a top -Success achieved. Edge and it flew to third man for a catch.

It was a disappointment for Pant as he survived the first 40-45 minutes on the third day, but a mistake led to him soon losing his wicket. In response to Pant’s dismissal, two Australian legends got into a disagreement, with one hitting the other. Speaking on Fox Cricket, Mark Waugh criticized Pant, calling it “unacceptable”.

On-air meltdown between two Australian legends

“This is unacceptable. I know he is a very aggressive player and a player who is a bit out of line and unpredictable, but you have to recognize the game situation and the pitch. There were two players behind for that exact shot, so the percentages are not in your favor. If you don’t get six hits, you’ll end up somewhere deep,” he said.

“The shot is just too heavy and too risky to play with any degree of confidence and I would put it on the line and say you don’t have to do that.” When you’re attacking, run towards the bowler and him hitting in the middle, I much prefer that shot to that shot,” he added.

To Waugh’s dismay, Michael Hussey on the panel disagreed and defended Pant. “It’s a tough question though, isn’t it, because that’s how he likes to play, he likes to play these crazy shots, and if you start giving him too much doubt it might just confuse him more. “It’s a bad shot “Don’t get me wrong,” he said.

Meanwhile, England legend Michael Vaughan, who was also in the conversation, also joined the conversation and tried to support Hussey’s argument. He said: “Rishabh Pant is an exceptional talent, he plays in a way that not many play. Wouldn’t you give him license to continue playing like this?”

Unwilling to back down in the debate, Waugh continued his criticism of Pant. He said, “No, because that’s not an excuse.”

“That’s a terrible shot when his team needed it to go an inning. I understand that he is an aggressive player and I want him to be aggressive, but you still have to have certain limits on the shots you play. There has to be a certain amount of restraint and percentages in your favor for that shot to fail.”

Hussey again joined the conversation and felt that if Pant had hit a six, Waugh would have praised him in the commentary box. The former player noted that he did not want Pant to change his style of play. That wasn’t the end of the debate, however, as Waugh had the last word, asking Hussey: “So you’re saying that’s OK as a coach?”

“Yeah, I’d say go for it, buddy, do what you want to do,” Hussey replied.

“That’s why you’re not head coach, just assistant coach,” Waugh retorted, to which Hussey and Vaughan laughed. Waugh’s dig was in reference to Hussey’s tenure as assistant coach of the England T20 squad and in the IPL.

The third day saw a late rescue act from Nitish Kumar Reddy who made a comeback. Coming into bat with India at 191/6, he scored his first Test ton and remained unbeaten on 105*, taking the visitors to 358/9 at stumps and leaving them 116 runs behind.