Australian legend Ricky Ponting has opined that making rank turners has always backfired India. He feels that if Australia needed the result in the first test itself which would have created doubts in the Indian camp on how to prepare the pitches.
“I have seen this happen in India before. When they get so focused on trying to produce really rank turners it could backfire quickly. It had happened when Steven O’Keefe had taken all those wickets,” Ponting said.
“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,” said Ponting on ICC Review.
Ponting looking forward to see the pitch for the fourth test
Ponting said that India must not look too far ahead and focus on the next five days. He is looking forward to seeing how they prepare the wicket knowing that the series is on the line.
“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.
India needs to win or draw the match to qualify for the final of the World Test Championship. They might prefer making a pitch for a draw thus helping them to qualify for the final of the WTC. India is currently leading the series 2-1.
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