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'When India focus on preparing turners, it always backfires': Ponting's stern 'WTC final' message to Dravid, Rohit
Australia legend Ricky Ponting feels India are more under pressure after what unfolded in the third Test and hence, in a sharp message to captain Rohit Sharma and coach Rahul Dravid, asked them to shift their focus from preparing turners to qualify for the WTC final and rather look ahead at the match.
After the Indore pitch furore, there is a certain level of curiosity over what pitch will be laid in Ahmedabad for the fourth and final Test match of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series. Reports have revealed that India team have “given no instructions” and that a rank turner is “unlikely” to be dished out. But heading into the final match, Australia legend Ricky Ponting feels India are more under pressure after what unfolded in the third Test and hence, in a sharp message to captain Rohit Sharma and coach Rahul Dravid, asked them to shift their focus from preparing turners to qualify for the WTC final and rather look ahead at the match.
India skipper had clarified that playing on turners was the team's collective decision, after Indore pitch was immensely criticised. 30 wickets had fallen on the first two days of the match before the contest finished on the third morning with Australia winning by nine wickets.
Rohit had previously hinted that Ahmedabad would have a green top to help the Indian team gear up for the WTC final at the Oval in June, but Ponting, in conversation on the ICC Review, said that with the series on the line, India would want a rank turner before adding that Australia have managed to create a sense of panic in the Indian team management with their Indore win, recalling that it had happened back in 2017 as well when Aussies won in the series opener in Pune.
“Having lost the third Test match, the whole series is on the line now. If they had won in Indore they might have wanted a wicket in the fourth Test a bit similar to what they might get in the UK. With the series on the line, no way in the world they are going to do that. I think this is the Test match result Australia needed in the first Test match. They needed to sow a few seeds of doubts in the minds of the Indian players and the curators on how they would go about preparing the wickets. I have seen this happen in India before. When they get so focussed on trying to produce really rank turners it could backfire quickly. It had happened when Steven O'Keefe had taken all those wickets,” he said.
In a message to the hosts, Ponting concluded by saying that India should rather focus on winning the match than on making it through to the WTC final.
“So it is really intriguing to me now as to how they prepare their wicket for the last game knowing that the series is on the line. If I was there I wouldn't be looking too far ahead to the WTC final, they should only be looking at the next five days of Test cricket,” said Ponting.
