Adelaide, Jan 24: Centurion Ricky Ponting does not want Australia to “kill too much time” in their pursuit of putting up a huge first-innings total for taking 20 wickets could be hard work on a benign Adelaide Oval pitch here.
“You have to be careful not to bat too long. It will be a tough wicket to take 20 wickets if you want to win this game. We need to make sure we're not killing too much time,” said Ponting who struck an unbeaten 137 and put on 251 runs for the fourth wicket with skipper Michael Clarke (140) on day one of the fourth and final Test against India.
Such was Australia's domination that it raised questions about if it was the worst Indian attack he has faced Down Under.
“I don't remember the attack from 2003-04. That's a long time ago. I don't think this is a bad attack at all. Zaheer's one of the premier fast bowlers and has been for a while. But he has been down on match fitness and practice.
“Ishant is someone who has got me a lot in my career. Yadav is someone up and coming. Ashwin, like we saw early this morning, has the capability to take early wickets with the new ball when there's not much on offer for bowlers.
“I just think our batsmen in particular through this series have played particularly well. Most of the guys have put the hand up and made big runs. When you put that kind of pressure back on bowling attacks at different times every attack will look ordinary.”
After his century in Sydney, Ponting had said he wanted to really make a big one. He now has the chance to fulfill his wish against a lackluster Indian attack.
“I thought I played better today than I did in Sydney. It's probably a better wicket to bat on than Sydney. There was no sideways movement for the quickies. There was not a lot of spin. There was a little bit of reverse swing in the middle of the day.
“I see how I wake up tomorrow morning. I said the same in Sydney and let a big one get away there. I am not satisfied where I am at. As a player, you go through too many ups and downs in the career so I don't want to let this one slip tomorrow.”
Despite his hundred, Ponting was still bombarded with his less-than-dominant approach, and questions were also asked about his retirement.
“That's one of the things that is the difference between good players and great players. How does Sachin (Tendulkar) get up and go to training every day and work as hard as the young bloke coming through? It's not for me. It has never been about making 13,000 runs or 40 hundreds. Winning games of cricket for Australia is what motivates me to keep playing.
“Am I not dominating? Well I scored my first 50 off 70 balls, didn't I. I don't think my style has changed too much. I still get nervous before every innings and I think that's a really good thing. If the day comes where I'm sitting in the change rooms and haven't got sweaty palms before I bat then it probably means that it doesn't mean enough to me.
“I thought I played better today than I did in Sydney. Am I still the player I was? I'm not sure. You guys can answer that. If I can keep making Test match hundreds or having an impact on winning games for Australia, then that's what I'm all about at the moment.”
