December 19, 1974: Born as Ricky Thomas Ponting in Launceston, Tasmania to Graeme and Lorraine Ponting.
November 1992: Becomes the youngest debutant for Tasmania in the Sheffield Shield at the age of 17, breaking David Boon’s record by a fortnight.
December 8, 1995: Makes his Test debut against Sri Lanka at the WACA, Perth, and goes on to make 96 in his first innings.
July 24, 1997: Hits his maiden Test hundred against England at Headingley.
December 27, 1997: Strikes his first Test century on Australian soil against South Africa at the MCG, Melbourne.
March, 1998: Scores just 105 runs in five innings against India and is thrown out of a night club in Kolkata. He apologises to the staff and is fined $1,000 by the Australian management.
January, 1999: Goes night-clubbing after a one-day match and gets punched outside a bar in Sydney. He is photographed with a black eye the following morning and is banned for three matches with a suspended fine of $ 5,000. For the first time, the then 24-year-old publicly admits he has a drinking problem.
February-March, 2001: Endures a horrible run of form in India as he finishes the three-match Test series with a paltry 17 runs at an average of 3.4.
February, 2002: Replaces Steve Waugh as Australia’s ODI captain.
February-March, 2003: Leads Australia to its second successive World Cup triumph in South Africa. He scores an unbeaten 140 against India in the final.
December 28, 2003: Scores his third double century of the year in Tests and finishes it with 1503 runs at 100.2. He is later awarded the Allan Border Medal for his performances.
March 2004: Becomes Australia’s captain in all formats.
October-November, 2004: Misses Australia’s historic Test series win in India due to a thumb injury. He only plays the final Test, which Australia loses. Adam Gilchrist deputises in his place.
September 12, 2005: Becomes the first Australian captain after Allan Border in 1986-87 to lose an Ashes series.
January 6, 2006: Becomes the first and only batsman till date to score centuries in both the innings of his 100th Test — against South Africa in Sydney.
January 5, 2007: Leads Australia to a 5-0 sweep of England at home, the first whitewash in Ashes history since 1921.
April 28, 2007: Guides Australia to its third consecutive World Cup win in the West Indies.
December, 2007- January, 2008: Leads Australia to a controversial 2-1 series victory over India at home. His team equals the record of 16 consecutive Test wins set by Steve Waugh’s side before losing in dramatic fashion in Perth.
December 30, 2008: Becomes the first Australian captain to lose a home Test series since 1992-93 as South Africa wins 2-1.
July 31, 2009: Becomes Australia’s highest run-scorer in Tests during the 3rd Ashes Test at Edgbaston, overtaking Allan Border.
August 23, 2009: Becomes only the third Australian captain to lose an Ashes series twice as England wins 2-1 at home.
November-December, 2010: Oversees Australia’s first Ashes loss at home in 24 years as England registers a convincing 3-1 series win and gets the dubious distinction of being the only Australian captain to lose an Ashes series thrice.
March 24, 2011: Scores a gritty century against India in the quarterfinals, but Australia is knocked out of the World Cup after losing to the co-host by five wickets.
March 29, 2011: Resigns as Australia’s Test and ODI captain.
September 2, 2011: Wins a record 100th Test as a player when Australia defeats Sri Lanka in Galle.
December, 2011-January 2012: Hits a double-century and a hundred against India at home to score 544 runs in four Tests, his third best aggregate in a series ever.
February 21, 2012: Admits his ODI career is over after a horror run of 18 runs in 5 innings leads to him being dropped.
November 29, 2012: Announces the Perth Test against South Africa will be his last.
Priyansh
Comments
SHARE