Published 18:35 IST, January 17th 2021
Ricky Ponting 'disappointed' after Australia allowed Sundar-Shardul to be comfortable
Former skipper Ricky Ponting expressed disappointment at Australia for lack of aggression on Day 3 of the series-deciding fourth Test at the Gabba, Brisbane
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Former Australian skipper Ricky Ponting admitted he is a bit disappointed with Australia's performance on Day 3 of the series-deciding fourth Test match at the Gabba, Brisbane saying that they allowed the Indian batsmen to be way too comfortable at the crease.
'I was a bit disappointed': Ricky Ponting
"I was a bit disappointed with the way the Australians went about it, to be honest. I don't think they were aggressive enough, didn't bowl enough short balls. They let the Indian batsmen be way too comfortable at the crease," Cricket.com.au quoted Ponting as saying.
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"They almost bowled the way those batsmen would have wanted them to bowl. It wasn't until we saw a bit of a barrage from Starc and even when Shardul got out (bowled by Pat Cummins), it was no surprise it was a ball after a bouncer. I don't think the Aussies were anywhere near aggressive enough," he added.
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Shardul-Sundar help India stage a remarkable comeback
After the visitors were starring down the barrel at 186/6, both Sundar and Thakur took matters into their hands and added 123 runs for the seventh-wicket stand with both middle-order batsmen scoring half-centuries. While the southpaw scored 62, the Mumbai pacer ended up scoring 67 runs before being castled by Pat Cummins.
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Can India restrict Australia to a manageable total?
Team India were bundled out for 336 in reply to Australia's first innings total of 369 riding on a brilliant fifer from Josh Hazlewood as the hosts gained a first-innings lead of 33 runs. The Aussies in their second innings are 21/0 with openers Marcus Harris and David Warner remaining unbeaten on 1 and 20 respectively at stumps on Day 3.
India will now be looking to restrict Australia to a manageable total when they take the field on Day 4 as the Gabba Test reaches the business end.
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(With ANI Inputs)
18:35 IST, January 17th 2021