'We'll spring surprise on India'

Mumbai: Put him on the field and Ricky Ponting pretty much epitomizes the iconic Aussie aggression, but in front of a dictaphone, he is remarkably courteous, forthright, sincere and insightful in his answers.

Having toured India on several occasions, Ponting feels the contest between the two countries have become more close, tough and intense. And he readily admits that India is a formidable opponent at home.

“What I admire about the Indian team is that the guys have a lot of natural talent and they play very well in their home conditions. In the last few years, the matches are a lot more tough and intense between the two teams. One reason probably is that we are playing each other more often and no team wants to give an inch. They do their best in any situation and play hard to win, which in turn produces a much closer contest. It is good for the game. I feel South Africa and India are two of the toughest teams to beat in their backyard though in the recent past we have performed very well in India. We’d like to carry on in this series.”

Ricky Ponting is likely to go with three speedsters, two all-rounders and a spinner in the series against India. © AFP

With razor sharp bowling attack in the form of Brett Lee, Mitchell Johnson, Doug Bollinger, Peter Siddle and Ben Hilfenhaus, Ponting is not worried about taking on the Indian batting line-up. However, it’s the relatively inexperienced middle-order of his own team, which may be a cause of concern for him, especially against the spinners. The absence of experienced players like Michael Clarke and Brad Haddin is surely going to be felt. But Ponting is not willing to concede: “We will miss Clarke as he had done well here in the past but Michael Hussey, Adam Voges, Shaun Marsh, Cameroon White and myself will take care of the middle order. May be we will spring a surprise on the Indian team on Sunday (referring to first match at Vadodara).”

Armed to teeth with some serious fast bowlers, Ponting is faced with the classic problem of plenty. Will he unleash four of his speedsters and a spinner at the Indian batsmen? Ponting is little guarded about his precise combination. “During the Champions Trophy we tried a combination of three fast bowlers, two all-rounders and a specialist spinner. We’d like to go with the same combination but we’ll plan that out just ahead of the series.”

In the past, Australia had ruthlessly dominated the ICC rankings. However, in the recent times, they have been knocked down on a few occasions before getting back the top ranking after winning the 2009 Champions Trophy in South Africa. Can Australia dominate the way it used to or is it going to be a lot tougher from hereon? “Well, certainly the competition is a lot tougher. South Africa and India have emerged as tough teams to beat. We are building a team and a couple of years down the line India and South Africa will also be doing the same. By then our young players will have gained some experience and it’ll be interesting to see how it goes,” Ponting smiles.

Well, the coming series where the world’s top two teams, Australia and India, lock horns will certainly mirror the direction in which the cricketing world order will be heading towards.