NEW DELHI: Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting has urged struggling batters Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith to trust their game, drawing inspiration from star India batter Virat Kohli, to reverse their fortunes in the remaining four Tests of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
Labuschagne appeared completely at sea against the Jasprit Bumrah-led Indian pacers in the opening Test in Perth, managing just 2 off 52 balls and 3 in the second innings. Australia suffered a crushing 295-run defeat.
Smith also struggled, falling for a first-ball duck in the first innings and scoring a laboured 17 off 60 balls in the second before being dismissed by Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj.“Marnus looked the most tentative out of all the batters in Perth. Yes, it was high-quality bowling on a difficult wicket, but he needs to find a way to turn it around,” Ponting told ICC Review.
Ponting pointed to Kohli’s remarkable turnaround at Perth as an example.
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“Virat went back to trusting his game, and he looked like a different player in the second innings than he did in the first innings,” Ponting said.
Kohli had been dismissed for just five by Josh Hazlewood in the first innings but bounced back with an unbeaten 100 in the second, his 30th Test century, which helped India set a mammoth target of 534 runs.
“He (Kohli) got away from trying to combat the opposition and focused on his strengths. That’s what Marnus and (Steve) Smith need to do – find their own way and show great intent,” Ponting said.
Ponting, who amassed 13,378 runs from 168 Tests with 41 hundreds, advised Australian batters to take calculated risks and apply pressure on the Indian bowlers.
“You have to find a way to take risks and put it back on those guys because you know the Bumrahs of the world… they’re not going to give you too many easy scoring opportunities.
“When they do, you’ve got to be ready to pounce on it and put it away and try and put some pressure back on them,” he explained.
Despite the heavy defeat in the opening Test, which left Australia trailing 0-1 in the five-match series, Ponting warned against making wholesale changes to the lineup.
“I’d be sticking with the same side. I think you have to show faith in champion players, and a lot of the guys that we’re talking about in this team have been champion players.
“Maybe not for a little while, but they have proven their ability on the big stage,” he added.
Australia will face India in the second Test—a day-night encounter—at Adelaide from December 6, though they will be without injured pacer Josh Hazlewood.
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