It was one of the best knocks I’ve ever seen: Ponting

By Rahul Bajaj
for Cricketain.com

Published: November 6, 2009

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Hyderabad: Ricky Ponting was one relieved man at the end of the fifth one-dayer against India. When the Australian team posted 350 on the board, they wouldn’t have imagined that the margin of victory would be three runs! Australia eventually took a 3-2 lead in the seven match series after Sachin Tendulkar threatened to almost single-handedly win India the game.

After the match, Ponting was all praise for Sachin Tendulkar saying that it was one of the best knocks he has ever witnessed but he also lauded his young side who stepped up when it mattered helping Australia just steal a win from beneath India’s nose. Australia has so far lost five players to injuries in this series and Ponting said he was happy to see how the replacement players have responded to the challenge.

“It’s remarkable considering the number of players we have had injured on this tour and a couple of our better players who didn’t make the tour,” Ponting said. “When you take all those things into consideration, the way we are continuing to improve our cricket is fantastic. It is a great win for the boys and I am really happy to see some of the young guys doing well. It’s a really good sign for the team.”

Ponting was also full of praise for Tendulkar, whose breathtaking 175 was cut short with India needing 19 from 17 deliveries. “Sachin played beautifully. It was one of the best knocks I’ve ever seen,” he said. “We just had to keep hanging in there and I kept telling the bowlers to stick to their plans and to execute them well. It just takes one false shot and you are back in the game, but Sachin didn’t play too many false ones tonight. I thought we batted well too and Shaun Marsh and Watson were terrific for us today at the top of the order.”

Shaun Marsh, who scored his first one-day international century and finished with 112 in his first series after being out of the Australian team for six months, said it was a memorable day for him after being out of the team for such a long time.

“It felt like I was never going to get there when I was doing recovery with my hamstrings and all that,” Marsh told AAP. “It was a long six months when I did it in Dubai and knew it would be a lot of hard work. All the hard work I have done over the past six months is paying off a little bit so I have to continue now to make sure I don’t get too far in front of myself as I know this game can bite you on the bum very quickly.”

Marsh has now followed in the footsteps of his father Geoff Marsh, whose first ODI century was also against India. “It’s a day I will remember for a long time,” he said. “It’s a good feeling to know that he [Dad] has scored a century for Australia and that now I have has well.”

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