“To be honest, I don’t think there’s an advantage either way. But the conditions at The Oval are likely to be more similar to what we have in Australia than in India. That’s why I hope Australia can go on to win.”
This is how former Australia captain Ricky Ponting expressed his backing for Australia in the upcoming World Test championship final against India scheduled from June 7 to 11.
He also cited the decision to use the made-in-Australia Kookaburra Test match balls (instead of English brand Duke) could also tilt the scales in Australia’s favour.
“I think it’ll be India’s top-order against Australia’s fast bowling, It’s a bit of a mouth-watering thought going forward. Generally, we think about the battles between India’s spinners and Australia’s batters. But will that be negated by the wicket at The Oval? Normally the wickets that I’ve played on The Oval started as really good batting wickets, and actually offered a little bit to the spinners as the game’s going on.
“That’s what I’d like to see on this wicket – to have a really good contest on day four, day five, or maybe even day six (the reserve day), seeing how it’s going,” said Ponting, who will be part of the commentators’ team for the final.
Ponting chose Usman Khwaja to play a decisive role for Australia. “I think Khwaja holds the key to set Australia off to a good start.” He categorically mentioned that the absence of injury-hit Rishabh Pant, Jasprit Bumrah, Shreyas Iyer and K. L. Rahul could hurt India.
RCB Player Virat Kohli with Delhi Capitals Coach Ricky Ponting ahead of the IPL T20 Match at the Arun Jaitley Cricket Stadium in New Delhi. | Photo Credit: MOORTHY RV
Reflecting on what he thought about 13 Indians and just three Australian Test players figuring in the IPL ahead of the WTC final and how that could affect the teams, Ponting said, “There are two ways you can look at it. For someone like Virat (Kohli), he is better off playing now and scoring runs at a consistent basis. I’m sure if you ask Virat what he’d rather be doing, he’d say he’d rather be scoring runs now. If you ask the fast bowlers they’d probably say that they prefer to have a couple of weeks rest. It works both ways.
“Some of the Australian guys back home but haven’t been playing much cricket. They will be mentally better prepared but haven’t got the runs and cricket under their belt.
Underlining an example, Ponting said, “Is Mohammad Shami going to be in a better (position) skillwise than what Pat Cummins is? Cummins hasn’t played any cricket for a few months now. It’s a hard one. A lot of it comes down to the individual.”
Elaborating the point, the Aussie said, “The Indian players playing in the IPL won’t only be thinking about the IPL. They’ll be on workload management stuff to make sure they’re ready for a Test match in a couple of weeks’ time.”
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