Former Australian skipper Ricky Ponting believes that India missed an opportunity to exploit the conditions effectively, especially on Day 1 of the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final against Australia. Ponting pointed out that India’s performance in the first hour of the match let them down and reflected on their overall performance in the first two days of the final.
India, after winning the toss and electing to bowl, allowed Australia to reach 73/2 before lunch. Australia dominated the first two days, with Travis Head and Steve Smith scoring centuries to help their team post a commanding total of 469 runs. In response, India finished Day 2 at 151/5, trailing by 318 runs.
Ponting believes that India missed an opportunity in the first hour by bowling too short. He emphasized that with the pitch and overhead conditions favoring them, India should have bowled fuller and induced more drives from the Australian batsmen. Ponting mentioned that having Australia four or five wickets down at lunch would have been a better outcome for India.
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“I think where they let themselves down was in the first hour yesterday and bowling too short. With the wicket conditions, the overhead conditions they had, and the brand-new Dukes ball, they had to bowl fuller and get the ball driven back down the ground. They needed to have Australia four or five down at lunch, and they only had them two down, which was a pretty good result (for Australia),” Ricky Ponting stated.
He also revealed that he saw captain Rohit Sharma and head coach Rahul Dravid discussing their approach after winning the toss. Ponting acknowledged that choosing to field was a bold decision, and playing four seamers while leaving out Ashwin seemed to be the only option.
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“I know the captain wears the brunt of it (criticism), but I know it’s not only his decision. I saw Rahul Dravid and him out (Rohit) in the middle yesterday morning, and they had a long discussion about what they wanted to do at the toss. If they wanted to bowl first, I think they had to play the four seamers. So far you would say it hasn’t paid off – but there is a long way to go, and we probably shouldn’t be too quick to judge,” Ricky Ponting further added.
It remains to be seen how India will respond in the remainder of the match and whether they can stage a comeback against the dominant Australian side.
