David v/s Goliath


If you thought Ponting was Bhajji’s bunny, think again. Bhajji has competition from a lanky North Indian named Ishant Sharma.

If David had the sling against Goliath, Ishant had the swing against Punter. In an hour of relentless interrogation, there were more questions asked than answers given. There were other legends of the bat standing at slips and watching as a rookie from their team undid a legendary opponent. The fielders were incidental, there were hardly any runs coming. Most of them were enjoying the undoing of the most competitive street fighter in modern day cricket.

Ponting fumbling against spin is something that even the school kids of Tasmania would tell you about but this fresh script is a promising one. For a man who more often that not has a boundary as his first scoring shot and pulls fast bowlers for six over deep square as if that is where they were always meant to be, being undone by an Indian rookie is unfathomable. A six foot plus, wiry young lad with a bunch of amulets around his neck deserves nothing more than a second glance in Ponting’s diary, instead he got a standing ovation from Perth. There was no great variety in what Ishant delivered; there was a lot of venom though. Ponting knew what was coming; he just couldn’t fathom the rate at which it did.

The umpires seemed to be enjoying the battle too, that probably explains why they charitably granted Punter a life or two. After 42 relentless missiles when the Southie, conservative rational Kumble decided to reign in his war horse, the Jat from Najafgarh intervened. Ek aur dalega? Are famous last words that Kumble uttered as obituary to Ponting.

Seldom has one seen such relentless ‘working’ of any batsman by an Indian fast bowler before getting him out. It’s very akin to how tigers are prone to playing with their catch, even as it struggles for life before delivering it from its suffering. Ishant did that to the Aussie skipper, and how.

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