Ponting’s View on Pujara’s Slow Innings in Melbourne Test

Former Australia skipper Ricky Ponting found India’s slow batting baffling in the third Test and feels that Cheteshwar Pujara’s 106 off 319 balls may end up being the reason for their defeat. India scored at but 2-and-a-half runs associate degree over for many of the primary two days of the take a look at, registering the slowest first-innings score of quite three hundred in Australia for three decades.

Pujara consumed 319 deliveries for his 106-run knock as none India’s top five batsmen scored at a strike rate of more than 50. Even captain Virat Kohli, UN agency paces his innings the right way, scored his eighty-two off 204 balls with a strike rate of 40.19 on a slow track.

“If the Republic of India continue and win the sport, it’ll be a great innings but if they haven’t got time to bowl Australia out twice, it could be what actually costs them the sport,” Ponting told “I think it’s always hard for India to push the run rate along when Pujara’s there. He’s simply created another hundred, his second of the series, so he’s playing well and doesn’t really look like getting out.’’

“But he simply locks himself during this very little bubble wherever marking does not appear to disconcert him the least bit. They have got other guys in their side who are stroke-makers but if those guys do not come off, the scoring rate is always going to be hovering around that 2 runs Associate in Nursing over mark, which makes it pretty hard to win Test matches, especially on flat wickets as we might have here.”

The former take a look at Captain Ricky Ponting aforesaid India’s ways was on the far side comprehension.

“Even (since Pujara’s dismissal), it just seems like they have not got a lot of direction about what they are trying to achieve. It looks like they want to bat long enough to only bat once, but just yet they have not got enough runs to do that.” Ponting conjointly inspired Australia to barrage Kohli with short balls.