Ricky Ponting

While the first day of the first test match between India and Australia is on an even keel, the Aussie captain has entered into a distinct zone. He after run out by a brilliant throw from mid-on by Suresh Raina has attained the distinction of being declared run out fourteen times in his batting career so far. Interestingly enough, his predecessor Allen Border follows him closely by being run out 12 times in his career, while his other Aussie mate Mathew Haydens also is at par with Border i.e. he also got run out 12 times in his career.

Aussies have the distinction of running close and sharp singles in the field be it the test matches or the one-day matches, the whole idea being to fluster the fielder, make him commit mistake and disturb the momentum of game for the opposite team. But it was truer in the olden times when aggression had not entered into the body language of the opposite teams. One Sourav Ganguly changed all of it and now players from opposite team are not shy of taking the Aussies head-on and are succeeding as well. Suresh Raina was the latest example under this category.

The brilliant manner in which he picked up the ball, and released it and the manner in which  Murali Vijay ducked sideways to allow the ball to hit the stumps is reflective of the aggression that has come into a fielding side, more so, if one is playing against the Aussies. Ricky Ponting was just ambling along when he saw the ball going to beat him to stumps and the throwing of bat in the air in frustration after being declared run out said it all.

The moot point is, when a team is cruising along and a run out happens the whole momentum of the game is disturbed and it allows the opposite team to tighten the proceedings. This is what happened in today‘s match and the Indian team which was at the receiving end suddenly turned the table on the Aussies and are in the commanding position at the end of the first day of the game in Mohali.

With two days of holidays coming along the test is indeed poised for an interesting turn and with spectators coming in large numbers to support their team, who knows India may continue to have a tight leash on the Aussies.

Tags: Cricket, Distinction, Ricky Ponting, Run Out, Sports, Suresh Raina, Test Cricket