Australian Skipper Ricky Ponting has expressed that Australian batsmen will have to intensify their game if they are to win the World Cup after their iffy batting show in the warm-up match against India in Banglore. Chasing 215 to win, Australian lost their 9 wickets in just 58 runs. Ponting blamed the under prepared pitch for batting disaster. It was an odd ODI wicket, I don't remember the last one-day wicket, I have played on that spun that much after Ponting told after 38 runs loss, You will have to find a way sometimes to fight good spin bowling on tough conditions like that. Who knows as the tournament goes on, we can face conditions like that somewhere else, and I would like to think that we can play a lot better. Otherwise, we can't win. Hopefully some of the younger guys in the middle order can learn a little bit about starting in tough conditions.
We were unsatisfactory and should have played better, but by the same token even the Indian batsmen would have found it difficult to bat in those conditions. I have played a lot of one-day cricket here in India and Sri Lanka, but I don't think I have ever played in an ODI game with so much spin. We only arrived here two days back and will do more practice as things move on.
Though Australian batting is bendy but their seamers, led by the impressive Brett Lee, turned in good show and restricted India below than 225. They also conceded 25 wides but Ponting said that the bowlers know their job. It is intolerable to bowl that many wides in one-dayers but the bowlers know that, we know that. Lee and Mitchell Johnson were terrific, John Hastings bowled very well and we still should have chased that many runs.
Ponting also beam about his spinners and how he plans to use them in the World Cup. They rested Steve Smith and played Jason Krejza yesterday, but Ponting was very certain that Smith will be one of the key players for Australia in the tournament. Ponting's batting was one of the key points to emerge for Australia. He made 57 before becoming the seventh wicket to fall, stumped after missing a slog sweep against Harbhajan Singh. Ponting told, "I have to be a steady run-scorer. I certainly wasn't that in the summer. It was nice to get some runs but it doesn't add up for much. The runs I make in the bigger games will be vital. I am feeling good; I have worked as hard as I can since my finger surgery. I feel good with my body and felt good with my batting tonight. Hopefully I can get some more runs in the next warm-up game and carry that form through the tournament."
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