“Maybe sometimes he gets carried away, but he looks like the ultimate competitor” - Ricky Ponting impressed with Mohammed Siraj’s aggression 

Former Australian captain Ricky Ponting praised Mohammed Siraj for his aggressive attitude, saying that a team needs characters like Siraj when things are not going well.

Siraj led India’s fightback on Day 2 of the ICC World Test Championship final 2023 against Australia at the Oval on Thursday (June 8). He troubled the Aussie batters with well-directed short-pitched stuff. The 29-year-old got the wickets of Travis Head (163), Pat Cummins (9) and Nathan Lyon (9) to end with figures of 4-108 in 28.3 overs.

The right-arm pacer’s spell ensured that Australia did not reach 500, as they finished on 469 in 121.3 overs. Praising Siraj, Ponting told ICC:

"I loved seeing that (Siraj’s aggression), and he looks like the ultimate competitor. Maybe, sometimes, he gets carried away and goes a little bit over the top, but you need those guys in your side when things aren’t going well."

Ponting continued:

"He was the one today who said I am going to be the guy that is going to turn things around, and what I loved was that his pace didn’t drop at all during the whole innings. From the first ball yesterday morning until late this afternoon, his pace was hovering around that 86 or 87-mile and hour mark. and that says a lot about a great attitude."

Siraj got the first wicket of the WTC 2023 final when he had Australian opener Usman Khawaja caught behind for a duck in the fourth over on Day 1.

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“They let themselves down in the first hour” - Ponting on India’s Day 1 bowling effort

Reflecting on how India fared on the first two days of the WTC final, Ponting said that they let themselves down in the first hour of the opening day. Bowling first after winning the toss, India allowed Australia to reach 73-2 by lunch. Ponting said:

"I think where they let themselves down was in the first hour yesterday (Day 1) and bowling too short. With the wicket conditions, the overhead conditions they had and the brand-new Dukes ball, they had to bowl fuller and get the ball driven back down the ground.

"They needed to have Australia four or five down at lunch, and they only had them two down, which was a pretty good result (for Australia).”

Ponting also refused to be too critical of Rohit Sharma’s decision to bowl first under overcast conditions. The Australian said that it wasn’t his individual decision but that of the team think tank:

"I know the captain wears the brunt of it (criticism), but I know it’s not only his decision. I saw Rahul Dravid and him out (Rohit) in the middle yesterday morning, and they had a long discussion about what they wanted to do at the toss."

He added:

"If they wanted to bowl first, I think they had to play the four seamers. So far you would say it hasn’t paid off - but there is a long way to go, and we probably shouldn’t be too quick to judge."

Responding to Australia’s first-innings total of 469, India were in big trouble at stumps on Day 2, having been reduced to 151-5.