Australia, led by Ricky Ponting, knew how to deliver their best performance at the right time in ICC tournaments and the two-time World Cup-winning skipper believes India too will have to do something similar by overcoming mental hurdles to end their ICC title drought.
Cricket superpower India last won an ICC title in the form of the Champions Trophy in 2013. The Indian team made a great start to the T20 World Cup by defeating Ireland in New York. Talking to PTI from New York, Ponting said that the Indian team will have to find a way to deal with the tremendous pressure of its fans.
He said, “You have to be clear that your focus is on the tournament, not on worrying about external pressure or thinking too much ahead.” He said, “There is no dearth of talent in the Indian team but we should also not forget that winning the World Cup is not easy. All the best players of the world play in it at the same time. ”
Ponting, who led Australia to the 2003 and 2007 World Cups as captain, said, “It is all about mentality. How you deal with pressure. How you think under pressure is the difference between winning and losing.” He said, “In the World Cup, your best players have to play well all the time. Australian teams have always known how to perform well at the right time in big tournaments.”
Six months ago, Australia performed well at the right time and won the ODI World Cup under the captaincy of Pat Cummins. The Indian team may not have power hitters like Australia, England or South Africa, but Ponting believes that they have enough talent to play in the conditions of West Indies. The knockout matches are to be held in West Indies.
Ponting said, “Power hitting is not everything, strike rate is also important. The strike rate of Indian batsmen is no less than anyone else. Australia has Marsh, Stoinis, Maxwell or Cameron Green while South Africa has Stubbs, Klaasen or David Miller. They have strength but if we look at the Indian team, Suryakumar Yadav is capable of scoring runs on any ground.”
He said, “Rishabh Pant is performing well. They also have Hardik Pandya. Their batting is as dangerous as the other teams. I think Australia, India, England and South Africa will play the semi-finals. This South African team looks very strong. I will be surprised if none of these four teams win the title.
Disclaimer: CricketInFocus has not edited this news. This news has been published from PTI-language feed.
