da 888： It’s safe to say that those that doubted the calibre of Ricky Ponting will be feeling a touch sheepish this evening
da bwin： Cricinfo staff09-Oct-2008
The past is history: Ricky Ponting will be a relieved man after his first Test century in India © Getty Images
Five years ago, another tussle for the ownership of the Border-GavaskarTrophy started with considerable innuendo about the visiting captain beinga weak link, one to be targeted by the home side’s bowlers. Then, as now,the soft target turned out to a hard opponent and the tone for theseries was set by his defiance. We don’t yet know what sort of impactRicky Ponting’s 36th hundred will have on this game, but it’s safe to saythat those that doubted the calibre of one of the modern greats will befeeling a touch sheepish this evening.Sourav Ganguly was the Indian captain in December 2003, the man whose legswould buckle at the mere mention of “chin music”, the notes for which hadbeen written by Jason Gillespie, Andy Bichel and others. Half a decade on,it was Ponting that was expected to go into a light-headed trance at thefirst glimpse of a certain turbaned offspinner.At the Gabba, that most intimidating of Australian cricket fortresses, Ganguly drove and cut his way to a magnificent 135-ball century. There were short balls aplenty, but he bobbed and weaved out of harm’s way like a nimble welterweight. Fast forward to the Chinnaswamy Stadium, and the fourth ball of the morning. Ponting had just reached the middle, having passed a visiblyangry Matthew Hayden on the way. With the bulwark of his batting back inthe dressing room after a contentious decision, the weight on Ponting’sshoulders might have made Atlas wince. All he had to show for eightprevious Tests in India was one innings of 60, and an unwanted reputationas Harbhajan Singh’s bunny.Though the pace bowlers gave next to nothing away, Anil Kumble didn’t waittoo long to play his ace of spades. Harbhajan was on as early as the 13thover, and the stadium started buzzing. The scoreboard reminded everyone that Harbhajan had dismissed Ponting eight times in Tests, five of themduring that memorable series in 2001. A while later, it informed us thathe had also fallen seven times to Kumble, who waited till the 18th overbefore bringing himself on.Ponting takes chargeIt was a much-talked about point ahead of the series, and Ricky Ponting scored his first Test century in India. In 14 innings prior to this Test, Ponting averaged 12.28 in India.This was Ponting’s 16th hundred as captain, helping him go past Allan Border and Steve Waugh as the batsman with most hundreds while leading the team. The first four in the list are all Australians, with Brian Lara fifth.Ponting finally fell to an old nemesis, Harbhajan Singh. This was the ninth time he was dismissed by Harbhajan, the most by any bowler.During Australia’s visit in 2001, Ponting managed only 17 runs in five innings, falling on each occasion to Harbhajan. In his innings on Thursday, Ponting scored 37 off 46 balls against the offspinner.Double-spin jeopardy then. Surely, Ponting would have no riposte. Turnedout that he did, and multiple answers at that. Kumble was treated with amodicum of respect, and the harshest treatment saved for Harbhajan. Youcan’t judge a spinner based on one day on a slow, low and comatose pitch,but there were at least three Ponting strokes that laid down the sort ofmarker that Ganguly had at the Gabba.Early on, Harbhajan had a man stationed at short midwicket. Ponting waitedtill he was past 50 and then decided he had to go. Two thunderouslofted strokes down to the rope at deep midwicket made Kumble switch to amore conservative field that allowed easy singles, and a sublimecover drive then took him into the 90s. Like every great batsman who hasplayed the game over the past 130 years, Ponting adapted to the situation.The hard-handed and confused player of seven years ago was gone, and Indiahad no answer to the new prototype.You also wondered just how much the retirement debates had affected theIndians. John Buchanan has spoken of how the prolonged Steve Waughfarewell affected Australia in the 2003-04 series that they were fortunateto draw, and it remains to be seen how both Indian selection and moralewill be affected by the unending saga of tributes, rants, soundbites andasides.As there usually is between these two sides, there was no shortage ofdrama or spirit. Kumble went from exasperation to frustration as catcheswere dropped and appeals turned down, while Harbhajan’s sprint to themiddle first thing in the morning revealed just how keyed up he was evenin the absence of Andrew Symonds.Fortunately though, there was no repeat of the malice or puerile behaviourthat took the sheen off a terrific Test match in Sydney in January. WhenPonting got to his century, there was applause from Dravid at slip andIshant Sharma at square leg. The stakes may be impossibly high but truechampions have the grace to acknowledge and appreciate their peers.