Ponting: We Played Well Enough To Win

For Australia captain Ricky Ponting , it was more relief than delight after winning the first One-Day International against India in Vadodara, on Sunday.

Australia looked heading for a comfortable victory after reducing India to 201 for seven in the 40th over.

Many from the crowd started making their way out but suddenly hurried back to the stands as Harbhajan Singh  (49 from 31 deliveries) and Praveen Kumar (40 from 32) attempted the impossible. But, in the end, Australia proved why they are the undisputed champions in the 50-over format.

Ponting was clearly annoyed with his bowlers for letting India get so close. Only Peter Siddle was spared his wrath. That’s because he gave away just four runs in the final over, with India needing nine for victory.

“I was happy with the fact that we won. We played well enough to win the game. I would have been disappointed if we hadn’t crossed the line after having largely played well through the course of the game. I think it will be a good learning curve for a few of the guys,” Ponting said after Sunday’s match in Vadodara.

It was he who set up Australia’s mammoth 292 for eight with a fluent innings of 74 from 85 deliveries, while Michael Hussey  smashed 73 from 54 at the end. He believes India were lucky that Australia finished inside the 300-run mark after looking good for nearly 320 runs at one stage.

“At one stage we thought we might score more than 292, but a few wickets slowed us down. Michael Hussey played an outstanding innings and the others too did well. Tim Paine and Cameron White played well. Of course, there is room for improvement before game two,” he added.

Ponting said despite Harbhajan and Kumar’s dazzling strokeplay towards the end he was always confident that his team would emerge triumphant.

“Harbhajan didn’t take the game away from us though he did come close. I think our bowling in the last ten overs, I mean I don’t think that we can get that bad again. Yeah, it was bad!”

He went on to shower rich praise on fast bowler and ICC  Emerging Player of the Year Siddle for coming up with an excellent last over.

“I knew it will be an entertaining [last] over. Of course, things were in their [India's] favour in that last over after they scored 20 in the earlier over, but a couple of good balls helped us and Siddle was calm and composed and it will help him in the long run.”

Ponting said preparation for the game was not hundred per cent with some of the guys joining the team late after being involved in the Champions League  Twenty20. He warned that now that the team is together it would come up with more improved performances.

“The fact that some of our players joined us last night and the day before after the Champions League did hinder our preparations and team tactics. Three of the guys got in last night after half past eight and we took the team bus to the ground at seven in the morning; that hardly gave us any time to discuss, and that makes this victory all the more special,” he said.

Ricky Ponting: India A Formidable Opponent

They have some excellent wins behind them while coming into the one-day series against India but Australian captain Ricky Ponting is not willing to underestimate the hosts and expects the seven-match contest to be an entertaining and tough affair.

“India is a very good and strong one-day team and were not underestimating them. We are the number one and two teams in the world and all points to an entertaining and good contest over the next few weeks,” Ponting said at his first media conference after arriving on Tuesday.

“We have always enjoyed playing in India and against India. Our rivalry over the last few years has been growing and its good for the world game,” he said.

Pointing out Australia’s splendid run in the 50-over game over the last few months, that included a 6-1 thrashing of hosts England and a successful defence of their ICC Champions Trophy crown, Ponting was optimistic of carrying forward good form in India as well.

“We have played some excellent one-day cricket over the last few months beginning from the England tour and in the Champions Trophy. We need to keep improving and need to be at our best right through the series,” he said.

The 34-year-old Australian captain, who has quit T20 internationals, felt that a lot of responsibility lies on his shoulders as the team’s most experienced batsman.

“I have a good record in one-day cricket in India as compared to Tests. I have played some of my best one-day cricket over the last few months. A lot of responsibility is on my shoulders as the number three batsman in the team. It’s really a big challenge to play against India,” he said.

Ponting, who has scored over 12,000 runs in ODIs with 28 centuries to boot, said that the retirement of stalwarts like Mathew Hayden and Adam Gilchrist, who were part of the squad that thrashed India 4-2 in the last series in this country, has given a good chance for some new players to step up the ladder.

“We have got a lot of young players, young as far as experience goes, who are finding their feet in international cricket. We have played some good one-day cricket over the last few months and they have grown in confidence from that. This series offers them different set of challenges,” he said.

Ponting did not read too much into the fact that the Indian team would be without a specialised bowling and fielding coach following the unceremonious sacking of Ventatesh Prasad and Robin Singh by the Cricket Board just before the series.

“A lot of coaching can be done among the players themselves. The younger players can learn a lot from the experienced guys,” he retorted.

Beware Sachin Tendulkar Ricky Ponting Is Snapping At Your Heels

Beware Sachin Tendulkar, Ricky Ponting is snapping at your heels. The prolific Australian skipper, who has been in tremendous form,

went past 12,000 ODI runs during the match-winning 28th ton in the Champions Trophy semi-final against England.

He followed it up by hinting he remained the only one to pose a serious threat to Sachin’s records. “He (Sachin) has set a benchmark for guys like me to chase him and get as close as we can,” said Ponting.

Top batsmen are fiercely possessive about personal milestones and Tendulkar, who will compete 20 years of international cricket next month, currently sits atop the Test and One-day International batting charts. Can Punter, who is already 34 and made his debut nearly six years after Sachin, shave off even one of these benchmarks?

In the ODI stakes, it looks impossible. Ponting is currently third in the list of all-time run-getters list and edging closer to No.2 spot.

Tendulkar, though, has left others far behind with 16,903 runs and 44 hundreds. Behind him lies Sanath Jayasuriya, with 13,377 runs and 28 tons.

Ponting can surely catch up with the maverick Sri Lankan opener: the Aussie skipper now has 28 tons, with 12,043 runs. Punter might go past Jayasuriya but is unlikely to give Sachin sleepless nights. Interestingly, Ponting has played the least number of matches among all three, and is unlikely to play till 40 like Jayasuriya has.

It is in Test matches that Ponting could, theoretically, challenge Tendulkar. Here too he is third, behind Brian Lara. But Ponting has the highest average of the three: 55.88 compared to Sachin’s 54.58 and Lara’s 52.88. Sachin has 42 tons and 12,773 runs and Ponting is likely to go past Lara’s 11,953. He already has more centuries, 38 to Lara’s 34. Sachin has given himself two more years, till the 2011 World Cup, and if Ponting outlasts him on the international stage he could easily breach the 42-ton barrier.

How Ponting will be wishing he could play on as long as Sachin has. Paying rich tribute to Tendulkar for completing 20 years as an India batsman, Ponting said: “If I had to last 20 years, I would probably be batting in a wheelchair. The number of innings of his I have been able to sit back and watch, I think he is an amazing player. Look at his stats and his records and it’s quite incredible for someone to have stayed in the game for 20 years.”

Currently, the odds seem stacked against Ponting. Though both batsmen have had their share of injuries, Ponting’s additional burden of captaining a team in transition has resulted in his Test average dropping sharply in the last two years. However, both he and Sachin have scored five tons in the same period.

Ponting knows if he sticks around longer than Tendulkar, he could edge past his Test runs or centuries record. Ironically, the biggest hindrance is not the fear of injury but Australia’s selection policy. Unlike Indians, Aussies don’t lay too much stress on personal milestones. Captains lose their place in the team if they lose the top job and chances are, like Steve Waugh, Ponting will be asked to step down in the limited-overs version first.

In Tests, will be allowed to bat on till he is, say, 37 or 38? If he isn’t, the debate will shift gears to who was the more effective big-match player. Any bets on that one?