Ajit Agarkar talks about teasing Ricky Ponting at KKR in IPL 2008 with epic Lord's sledge

Many young cricketers around the world aspire to play for their country at the highest level. And when they get that opportunity to play for his country, another big honour for them is getting on the 'Lord's Honours Board' by scoring a century or taking a five-fifer at the iconic English venue. However, there are not many players who are able to achieve the coveted feat throughout their careers.

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In fact, some of the best players in the game who have created and broken a plethora of records, haven't managed to get their names on the Lord's Honours Board. Legendary cricketers like Sachin Tendulkar, Brian Lara and Jacques Kallis are on that list. Same is the case with former Australia captain Ricky Ponting, who couldn't score a Test century at Lord's. 

Ajit Agarkar reveals how he mocked Ricky Ponting for not scoring Test hundred at Lord's

Recently, former India all-rounder Ajit Agarkar revealed how he once mocked Ricky Ponting for not scoring a Test century at Lord's. Ajit Agarkar holds a batting record that some of the veterans of the game have not been able to achieve, a Test match hundred at Lord’s, the 'Home of Cricket'. Ajit Agarkar was successful in getting his name on the Lords's Honour Board during India’s 2002 tour of England when he scored an unbeaten 109 in the first Test of the series.

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Ajit Agarkar also admitted that he could never brag about his achievement to his ex-Mumbai and India teammate Sachin Tendulkar but he made sure he teased Ricky Ponting about the same. While speaking to Gaurav Kapur on his podcast 22 Yards, Ajit Agarkar revealed that when he was playing with Ricky Ponting at Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), he mocked the former Australia captain asking him about the number of hundreds he has scored at Lord's.

However, Ajit Agarkar further said that he would easily swap his hundred at Lord's for what all these legendary cricketers have achieved in their careers. But he added it would be too disrespectful to ask them that. However, he said it’s always fun to tease a little and added that he was lucky enough to get a hundred at Lord's. He called it a 'special memory'.

It is also rumoured that Agarkar has used the same to hit back at Ponting when he sledged him during the 2003-04 Test series in Australia as the Indian bowler was known as the 'Bombay Duck' in the cricketing fraternity for scoring 7 consecutive ducks against the then world champions at one point of time.

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Ajit Agarkar scored his maiden international century which could not have been possible without a determined Ashish Nehra at the other end. The pair added 63 runs for the final wicket with Ashish Nehra seeing off 54 balls to make sure Ajit Agarkar reached the milestone. Ajit Agarkar found Ashish Nehra’s support in the second innings more impressive than his eight-ball duck in the first where he came on as a nightwatchman. Ajit Agarkar also said that he owes his hundred to Ashish Nehra.

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IMAGE COURTESY: ALL INDIA RADIO TWITTER