Former Australian captain Ricky Ponting and former Indian opener Gautam Gambhir are two of the most stubborn cricketers ever to have played the game. Known for their tremendous leadership skills and never say die attitude, both of them have had various moments to remember on the cricket field. On the latest Star Sports Cricket Connected show Gambhir revealed how he managed to sledge back the Aussie veteran in 2008 test series.
The Delhi born southpaw recalled an interesting incident from 2008 when the then Australian captain Ricky Ponting decided to sledge him as he went onto make a double hundred in the Bangalore Test.
“Ricky Ponting in 2008. When Anil Kumble was the captain, in that series where I got a double hundred. In the 1st test match at Bangalore, he said that I had not sent the world on fire while I was batting and he was fielding at silly point,” Gautam Gambhir told on Stars Sports show ‘Cricket Connected’ said Gambhir.
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Gambhir was never a sort of character that would keep quiet during a fight. He was quick to respond to the argument by Ponting and went onto make it clear to him that he was a bunny in India irrespective of his record elsewhere. He hit back at him by pointing out the Australian captain’s lack of runs in India.
“And I said ‘Neither have you to be honest in India. You have been a bunny’. And his record says that as well that he has been a bunny in India.” Gambhir added.
Ponting who had been a prolific run-scorer across all formats in different conditions failed to deliver to the expectations each time he toured India. He averaged just 26.48 from the 14 Test matches he played in India. And most interestingly only 1 of his 41 test centuries have been in Indian soil.
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The fiery duo later went onto share the dressing room as captain and coach for the Delhi Capitals in the IPL. Gambhir was appointed as the captain under the coaching of Ricky Ponting in 2018, but poor performance led to him replicating what Ponting did with Mumbai Indians in 2013 by to stepping down from captaincy midway through the tournament by handing over the reigns to young Shreyas Iyer.
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