While Ricky Ponting is desperate for some inspiration after two consecutive defeats, he has an all-win record as player and captain at Mohali. Here ARE some blasts from the past...
While Ricky Ponting is desperate for some inspiration after two consecutive defeats, he has an all-win record as player and captain at Mohali. Here are some blasts from the past...
Quite unbelievable
|
|
Ricky Ponting. PIC/GETTY IMAGES |
World Cup 1996 Semis: Ponting was trapped leg before by WI's Curtly Ambrose for a duck and Australia ended up scoring a disappointing 207. Shivnarine Chanderpaul led the WI batting charge with 80. Some spark by Brian Lara and Richie Richardson threatened to put Australia out of the World Cup but Shane Warne created the kind of magic only he is capable of.
Warne claimed four of the eight West Indies wickets which fell for 37 runs in 50 balls. The Aussies thus made it to the final against Sri Lanka at Lahore.
The big fight
Titan Cup 1996: The penultimate match of the Titan Cup was a high- scoring affair and though Australia ended up losing to India by just five runs, it was a game where they showed some improvement. Australia did not win a single game in this tri-series which India won. The Aussiesu00a0 nearly chased down India's 290-run target thanks to a sizzling 86-run fifth wicket stand between Michael Bevan and Michael Slater. Ponting saw his side's improved performance from the dressing room, dropped after getting a blob in the
previous game against SA.
All too easy
Champions Trophy 2006: Australia beat India by six wickets with 26 deliveries to spare. Half centuries from Sehwag and Dravid helped India score 249, a total which didn't trouble the Aussies. Ponting scored a splendid 58 (his fifty came in 63 balls, 7x 4) while Watson and Martyn relished the Indian bowling too. Australia's pace arsenal of Lee, McGrath and Bracken broke the back of the Indian batting with McGrath dismissing Tendulkar. Australia's bad luck at the toss didn't make a difference as Munaf and Irfan were listless.
Kiwi fruit
Champions Trophyu00a02006 (SF): A few days after pushing India out of the competition, Australia tackled NZ in the semi-final of the Champions Trophy. The eventual champions managed a 34-run win but the Kiwis were a lot more competitive than the Indians. They reduced Australia to 240 before Daniel Vettori and Jacob Oram got together for a great stitch-up job to put on an amazing 103-run partnership. Not many teams could have achieved that after being reduced to 35 for six, but NZ did. Ponting scored his second consecutive fifty at Mohali.
