Ricky Ponting
Bangalore: Cornered and with plenty to play for, Ricky Ponting has stated that he shouldn’t be expected to make a gesture if V.V.S. Laxman, who is all fit and fine to appear in the second and final Test, again requires a runner. The Australian skipper would of course, be within his rights to refuse.
“No to a runner, learnt a lesson last week.If Laxman comes with a pre-match injury, and then he won’t get a runner. To me, he’d looked pretty fit with his movements in Mohali,” Ponting pointedly said on Friday afternoon, some 20 hours before the start of the second Test.
Ponting’s sentiments are quite understandable. With Suresh Raina as a runner, Laxman crafted a superb 73 not out to carry Team India to a memorable one-wicket win. Dhoni, the Indian captain, expects Australia to hit back hard after the Mohali loss and Ponting is bent on making a point on all fronts in the match beginning on the morning of 9th October.
Ponting hasn’t won a Test in India since he’s taken over as the Aussie captain. He’s led Australia 6 times and faced defeat on four occasions. This could be his last chance to open his account. With India desperate for a 2-0 cleansheet, the Chinnaswamy Stadium may see a classic showdown when the Airtel series for the Border Gavaskar Trophy enters the last 5 days.
The disturbance could be the weather. On and off, it has rained over the past few days here and at times, it did get overcast on the eve of the match. For most of the day, most of the attention was on middle order master Laxman’s back, which has been troubling him for some time. He didn’t practise in the morning, but went through almost the entire preparatory routine in the evening including half an hour of batting when Ponting and co. left for their hotel after practice.
Coach Kirsten and Eric Simons, effectively the assistant coach, accompanied Laxman on his second trip to the Chinnaswamy. “I’m feeling much better, didn’t have the recurrence of spasms. There was no feeling of discomfort,” Laxman told the media on returning to the team hotel.
The presence of wife Shailaja his two children, obviously, helped Laxman relax and not keep worrying about the back. After the positive signs, if Laxman still wakes up with spasms, then Pujara would make his debut. Apart from that, India will see just two changes Murali Vijay for Gautam Gambhir and Sreesanth for Ishant Sharma.
It’s going to be another comeback for both, with Sreesanth returning after a much longer break. Speaking exclusively, he said: “I’m excited, I’ve had too many injuries and I’d now like an extended run.” As for the Aussies, Bollinger won’t be playing. He hasn’t recovered from the abdominal strain.
Unusually, India hasn’t won a Test at the Chinnaswamy Stadium after Oct 1995, when New Zealand got beaten. So, there’s another reason for Dhoni Inc. to put in that extra bit.
Tags: Australia, Bangalore, Chinnaswamy Stadium, Cricket, India, Ricky Ponting, Test Cricket, V.V.S. Laxman
