Ponting showed great character

Australia captain Ricky Ponting pulls one en route his fine knock of 104 against India in the World Cup quarter-final at the Sardar Patel Stadium in Motera, Ahmedabad yesterday. Pic/ATUL KAMBLE

India's batting depth ensured that the Australian skipper would walk off the field crestfallen, his future uncertain, despite having scored a memorable century. With a mixture of dazzling strokes interspersed with some dangerous living in the middle, Tendulkar and Gambhir first, and then Yuvraj and Raina sealed a famous win that will be long remembered.

Competitive score
Going in for the dinner break, the match looked tantalizingly poised. Australia would have liked 15 runs more than the 260 they managed andu00a0 India would have been happier chasing 15 runs fewer. Yet, Ponting's century appeared to have taken his side to a highly competitive score on a pitch that did not exactly encourage free strokeplay and which looked likely it would slower and lower as the day wore on.

With 28 ODI centuries ufffd including four in World Cups ufffd behind him, Ponting's stature as one of the all-time great batsmen in limited overs cricket was already assured. But given the circumstances, this innings was a tour de force nonetheless.

Given his poor form in the World Cup the number of critics asking for his head had been growing exponentially every day. A failure here would perhaps have sealed his fate as captain, perhaps even as player.

Whether this hundred assuages the rising skepticism in Australian cricket about his future remains to be seen, but those who watched Ponting bat this day could not have been moved to utter admiration. He showed the resilience of a war veteran and the zeal of a man born-again to faith, as it were.

Improvised strokes
It was an innings of great character and wonderful strokes, several of them improvised against some tight bowling and fielding. Sadly, it all came to nought. The failure of Australia's middle order to support their captain ufffd Clarke, Mike Hussey and White made only 23 runs between them ufffd followed by the failure of mainline spinner Jason Krejza to take wickets made it India's day.

It wasn't a cakewalk for Dhoni's team, of course. The Aussies fought hard and spiritedly, especially through their pace bowlers Lee, Watson, Johnson and Tait, who strained every sinew to get pace and bounce from this pitch. There was no dishonour in this defeat, though that might be no balm to Ponting's wounds.

I thought the Indians bowled exceptionally ufffd particularly Zaheer, Ashwin and Yuvraj ufffd and for the first time in this tournament fielded brilliantly too. Every time Ponting and a partner looked like running away with the match, the bowlers struck to break the partnership. Likewise in the batting, every time India lost a wicket and looked precariously placed, a new batsman rose to the occasion.

Tendulkar's masterly touch was ever bit in evidence in his half century. It seemed that he was intent on upstaging Ponting till a short, rearing delivery from Tait did him in. Kohli kept India supporters on edge as he holed out off a full toss, and thereafter Gambhir and Yuvraj frayed their nerves even further with some diabolical running between the wicket.

Gambhir became the casualty of his own impetuousness and Dhoni was superbly caught at deep gully to give the Australians a sniff of victory. But Yuvraj, by now easily the player of the tournament, and the dashing Suresh Raina ufffd not everybody's choice for this match ufffd took the team home on the wings of some heady strokeplay leaving Ponting desolate and wondering what might have been.

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