The Hindu : Sport : Ganguly is a class player, says Ponting

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Wednesday, Dec 26, 2007
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Ganguly is a class player, says Ponting

Special Correspondent

— Photo: AFP

CAPTAIN’S PRAISE: Ricky Ponting, seen practising on Tuesday, is all praise for Sourav Ganguly’s ability and resilience.

Melbourne: Ever aware of the benefit of the psychological edge, the Australian captain Ricky Ponting wondered aloud on Tuesday if Sourav Ganguly, set to play his 100th Test, would be more anxious than normal.

“What happened with me was I was quite nervous going in, and I put a bit more pressure on myself going in,” said Ponting, who scored centuries in each innings of his 100th. “I’m sure Sourav will be feeling a bit anxious and a bit nervous.”

He showed he could be generous in praise, calling Ganguly a “class player”. “He made a very good hundred in conditions Indian players aren’t used to playing (Brisbane). He’s a good player, and 100 Tests is a great milestone. He’s a class player and has been for some time. I’m not surprised at all at how he’s gone in the last few games,” said Ponting.

Great achievement

The Indian captain Anil Kumble, another who has completed 100 Test appearances, expressed hope that the Test would prove memorable for both India and Ganguly. “To reach 100 Tests is a fantastic achievement,” said Kumble.

“When you start out, you don’t think about playing 100 Tests. Many congratulations to Sourav. He has been in excellent touch, and I hope he carries that form with him to this match. I am hoping it won’t be a memorable Test only for him personally, but for the entire Indian team as well.”

Kumble added that his side was ready for the challenge of playing Australia. “This definitely is my last tour of Australia with the Indian team,” he said. “It definitely will be special to go back from here with a victory. It is not just the senior players; even younger players coming here for the first time are really excited to do well.”

Ponting, however, will have other plans. He spoke of Australia’s preparation going into the Boxing Day Test. “Last time (in Australia) we did over-attack some of their players just the little bit,” he said.

“Back to Adelaide in particular we probably let them score a few too many runs there and then didn’t switch quickly around. The beauty of technology is we should know every one of their players.

“If you look to the way we played against India last time (in India), we bowled a bit differently. We have lots of different plans and it all revolves around the conditions. If it seams and swings around tomorrow, you don’t want to be bowling short, you want to be pitching it up and getting catches behind the stumps,” said Ponting.

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