Did Jaiswal's 'too slow' remark ignite Starc's revival? Ponting weighs in

Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting believes a cheeky comment from India opener Yashasvi Jaiswal may have fueled Mitchell Starcs careerbest performance during the second Test in Adelaide as per ICCJaiswal had impressed with a remarkable knock of 161 in the series opener in Perth However his comment about Starc bowling too slow might have inadvertently motivated the Australian fast bowler The remark elicited a wry smile from Starc at the time but he had the final say when he dismissed Jaiswal for a duck with a superb delivery on the first ball of the match in AdelaideHes actually a pretty levelheaded guy Mitchell Starc He doesnt get flustered too much even you see when hes bowling now Ponting said in the latest episode of The ICC ReviewAnd if one of the batters does happen to say something he generally responds with a little smile on his face he said as quoted by ICCBut I think that smile on his face might be just a bit of a cover for the fire thats burning inside Look he bowled beautifully in Adelaide didnt he he addedAlso ReadLudhianas Dalhor costliest Srinagars 15yrold Yasir youngest in ISPL auctionHe also praised the rest of the Australian team particularly Pat Cummins and Travis Head for their vital contributions in securing a dominant 10wicket victory which leveled the series at 11I said in the leadup that Australias senior players had to really stand up and change what had happened in Perth Ponting noted as quoted by ICCWhen they lost the toss and Australia were bowling it was up to Cummins and Starc to set the tone from the very start of that game he addedStarc takes a wicket first ball happens to beat Jaiswal that had made 160 in the last innings he played against Australia And that really set the tone for the whole Test match I thought Starc was outstanding Careerbest figures 648 in the first innings and then the captain Cummins comes into his own in the second innings and leads the way with the ball in the second innings So lots of really good signs he notedThats the sort of bounceback that you would expect from the Australian team Their senior players standing up and Travis doing what he did Thats what they needed to do So they got the job done and now theyve got to do it again next week in Brisbane Ponting saidAt 34 Starc remains one of the most accomplished pacers in contemporary cricket with 692 wickets across all formats His accolades include two ICC Mens Cricket World Cup titles 2015 and 2023 the ICC Mens T20 World Cup in 2021 and the ICC World Test Championship in 2023Despite his successful career Starc is sometimes overlooked in discussions of the greatest bowlers of recent times Ponting however was effusive in his praise highlighting how Starc has adapted his bowling style to sustain his performance across all formatsHe certainly deserves high praise I mean hes probably in the last couple of years been better than hes ever been Ponting noted according to ICCAnd the reason that I say that is I think hes a more consistent bowler now than hes ever been before yet his pace is still about the same as it always was I mean he could bowl over 150kmh probably a few years ago and hes in absolute prime now Hes sort of operating in the mid140s but his consistency the way hes starting spells is really good now as well he saidI was really impressed by how he started his first spell in Perth and then the way he started his first spell in Adelaide was obviously unbelievably good So his pinkball record speaks for itself and I think talking to some of the players as well I think the reason why his pink ball record is so good is I think the pink ball actually performs very similar to the white ball he addedAnd we know what sort of record that Mitchell Starc has got with a whiteball That might be a part of the reason why he remarkedHes not slowing down Thats just not pace that hes bowling Thats the way that hes bowling So looking at him Josh Hazelwood and Cummins they could be around for another couple of years together yet he saidWith the series tied at 11 the focus now shifts to the Gabba for the third Test as both teams compete for a spot in the World Test Championship FinalWith agency inputs