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Ponting assures Aussies won't let up
Australian captain Ricky Ponting claimed that his side has devised strategies to silence Yuvraj Singh in the fourth ODI in Chandigarh.
- Press Trust of India
- Updated: October 10, 2007 05:55 PM IST
Read Time:2 min
Chandigarh:
Yuvraj's sizzling 121-run knock in the third match at Hyderabad was in a lost cause but an impressed Ponting reckoned the dashing left-hander could prove a thorn in the flesh again on Monday.
"He plays very well and has two-three centuries against us. His innings in the last match was exceptional. We had a meeting in which we discussed line and length against him and hopefully adjusting a few things would do it for us," said Ponting.
And going by Ponting, similar plans have been put in place for the trio of Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid.
"I think we have a little bit of advantage because we know their strength and weaknesses, unlike some of the youngsters in the Indian side."
"We know how we got them out a few times in the past. Anyway, they are quality players and on any given day, they can be matchwinners for India," he added.
Team composition
With regard to the Australian team composition, Ponting informed that Nathan Bracken would return to the side for Monday's match.
"Bracken has been in great form and he is among the top ranked bowlers. He will come back to the side but we'll decide the final eleven tomorrow."
"Batting line-up would remain the same. It was tough to leave out Brad Haddin after his brilliant knocks in the first two matches but we want to give chance to (Brad) Hodge as well," he reasoned.
The Australian captain also made it clear the team would not lower its guard. "Things can change pretty quickly in one-day cricket," he said.
Ponting hinted that his team wanted to prove a point in the ongoing series.
"After the Twenty20 semi-final, we probably got couple of days more than India. We wanted to prove a point and the next opportunity for us was this seven-match series against India."
"We are not living in the past, rather looking at future and trying to go better and better everyday", he said, in an obvious hint to series of felicitations for the Indian Twenty20 team.
Ponting, meanwhile, felt a lot has been said about aggression and he stood by his opinion it did not include mindless antics.
"What you actually do counts more than what you say out there. Being aggressive does not mean more body language, stares or exchange of words. It's all about playing aggressive cricket even when you are under pressure.
"It actually does not matter what you say. After all, this is a game of cricket where skills come first," he added.
Australian captain Ricky Ponting claimed that his side has devised strategies to silence Yuvraj Singh in the fourth ODI in Chandigarh.Yuvraj's sizzling 121-run knock in the third match at Hyderabad was in a lost cause but an impressed Ponting reckoned the dashing left-hander could prove a thorn in the flesh again on Monday.
"He plays very well and has two-three centuries against us. His innings in the last match was exceptional. We had a meeting in which we discussed line and length against him and hopefully adjusting a few things would do it for us," said Ponting.
And going by Ponting, similar plans have been put in place for the trio of Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid.
"I think we have a little bit of advantage because we know their strength and weaknesses, unlike some of the youngsters in the Indian side."
"We know how we got them out a few times in the past. Anyway, they are quality players and on any given day, they can be matchwinners for India," he added.
Team composition
With regard to the Australian team composition, Ponting informed that Nathan Bracken would return to the side for Monday's match.
"Bracken has been in great form and he is among the top ranked bowlers. He will come back to the side but we'll decide the final eleven tomorrow."
"Batting line-up would remain the same. It was tough to leave out Brad Haddin after his brilliant knocks in the first two matches but we want to give chance to (Brad) Hodge as well," he reasoned.
The Australian captain also made it clear the team would not lower its guard. "Things can change pretty quickly in one-day cricket," he said.
Ponting hinted that his team wanted to prove a point in the ongoing series.
"After the Twenty20 semi-final, we probably got couple of days more than India. We wanted to prove a point and the next opportunity for us was this seven-match series against India."
"We are not living in the past, rather looking at future and trying to go better and better everyday", he said, in an obvious hint to series of felicitations for the Indian Twenty20 team.
Ponting, meanwhile, felt a lot has been said about aggression and he stood by his opinion it did not include mindless antics.
"What you actually do counts more than what you say out there. Being aggressive does not mean more body language, stares or exchange of words. It's all about playing aggressive cricket even when you are under pressure.
"It actually does not matter what you say. After all, this is a game of cricket where skills come first," he added.
Topics mentioned in this article
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