India Will Struggle In Australia If The Ball Swings And Seams: Ponting

Former Australian captain and one of the greats of the game Ricky Ponting feels Indian batsmen will found it difficult in Australia if the ball starts swinging and seaming as it did in England in recently concluded 5-match Test series where India faced 4-1 lose.

After looking India's performance with the bat in England, Ponting has no doubt in his mind that India's top order will have to face the same difficulty in Australia as well if the conditions start helping the Pacers. Ponting was talking to the Cricket Australia website and said, "If the ball does swing around a lot or seam around a lot then I think India will find it difficult in Australia.



"I think any time we saw India struggle through the England series was when the ball moved. As soon as the ball started to move in the air or seam, the Indian batsmen will always struggle. It's no different to when Australia go to the subcontinent and the ball spins from day one. We always struggle with that as well," Ponting said.

India will be eying their first ever series win down the under. This will be India's best chance to win the series as Australia is not as strong as they were on previous occasions. Also, two of their best players, Steve Smith and David Warner will not be the part of the Australian squad as both the players are facing a one-year ban by CA after found guilty in the recent ball-tampering saga in South Africa.

However, this will not be as easy as India is thinking. Their previous record in Australia is not something that they can proud of. In their last two attempts in Australia, India have failed to win a single match. And therefore, India will be relying on their best player and No.1 Test batsman Virat Kohli once again who enjoyed a fabulous run with the bat in 2014-15. Kohli also was in sublime touch against England in recently concluded Test series and was the top run-getter with 593 runs in 10 innings.



Despite his excellent run with the bat, his captaincy went through under the scanner. Kohli as captain completely failed to read the conditions on two occasions if not many. And therefore, some of the former players raised the questions on his captaincy. However, Ponting rushed to the defence of the Indian captain.

"I've never sat back and tried to analyze what playing captains do as I know when I was captain on the field is about 30 or 40 percent of what you need to be in control of," Ponting said. "The rest of it happens behind closed doors or in the change rooms and quite often back in the hotel when you've got time to yourself.

"Trying to find ways to spend time with your teammates, learn about them inside out and trying to find a way to make them perform better on the field. It's not so much about a bowling change or a field placement as that part of the game is highly overrated as far as I'm concerned.



The tactical stuff is normally worked out a few days before the game and then you go with your gut instinct about the game out on the ground once the game starts," He said.

India will begin their tour of Australia with a 3-match T20I series from 21 to 25 November before playing the first of the 4-match Test series in Adelaide on December 6. India and Australia are also scheduled to play 3-match ODI series as well.

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