Indian batsmen will always struggle against moving ball, asserts Ricky Ponting

Indian batsmen will always struggle against moving ball, asserts Ricky Ponting

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After India's terrible batting performance in England, Ricky Ponting has stated that whenever the ball moves around, the Indian batsmen struggle against it. He has also added that if the same happens in Australia, India will struggle there as well during the upcoming Test series in December.

India is scheduled to tour Down UnderĀ in the month of November where they will play three T20Is, four Tests, and three ODIs. The Indian batsmen were seen struggling against the English bowlers during the recently-concluded Test series which the Indians lost 4-1. The former Aussie skipper has asserted that the Indian top-order will again be under a lot of pressure if the ball moves around in Australia.Ā 

"If the ball does swing around a lot or seam around a lot then I think India will find it difficult in Australia," Ponting told the Cricket Australia website.

"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."

The Indians don't have a great record in Australia either and they will certainly want to improve this time around. Skipper Virat Kohli has an excellent record in Australia and in the recent series in England, he scored 593 runs and struck two hundreds during the process. However, his captaincy came under the scanner due to some controversial chopping and changing which resulted in an insecure environment in the team dressing room. The former Aussie skipper also spoke about Kohli's captaincy and team selection.

"I've never sat back and tried to analyse what playing captains do as I know when I was captain on field is about 30 or 40 percent of what you need to be in control of. 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," said Ponting.

"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."

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