Boxing Day of 2003 between Australia and India was best remembered for being Steve Waugh's farewell to the MCG, the ground where he'd debuted exactly 18 years prior against the same opposition, and it was also remembered for Virender Sehwag clubbing the depleted Australian bowling attack for 195 off just 233 balls, with 25 4s and five 6s:
But, from a position of 1/278, India proceeded to lose 9/88 to be bundled out for 366 on the morning of Day 2, as 5 players were dismissed for ducks, most notably Sachin Tendulkar first ball (strangled down the leg side and caught by Adam Gilchrist via Brett Lee), continuing Tendulkar's tour to forget, which would become rather memorable a week later at the SCG.
In reply, after Justin Langer was dismissed just before lunch on Day 2, incumbent Australian Test captain Ricky Ponting came to the crease to partner Matthew Hayden, and proceed to follow up his 242 in Adelaide with an innings that would finish as his career-high Test score of 257, ably supported by Hayden with 136 as Australia plundered 558 in reply - Ponting and Hayden were the only Australians to surpass 50 in the match.
For the second year in a row, an Australian player had scored 250+ in the Boxing Day Test, following on from Langer's 250 against England in 2002, and in doing so Ponting became the first Australian since Don Bradman in 1936-37 to score a double century in consecutive Test matches...
It was also Ponting's 3rd double century of 2003, becoming only the second player behind Bradman in 1930 to score 3 double centuries in a calendar year, which remained the joint-record until Michael Clarke scored 4 (Including his triple century) in 2012.
The match-winner backed it up with an unbeaten 31 in the second innings, batting again with Hayden, securing Australia the victory by 9 wickets chasing a modest 95, an appropriate end to a year in which Ponting regularly had Indian bowlers in fits (The World Cup Final being the prime example), and saw him jump Brian Lara to become the highest rated Test batter in the world for the first time.
Still, after scoring consecutive double tons and 1500+ runs in 2003, the 257 on Boxing Day was also Ponting's last Test century for over a year, as he wouldn't score another until the 2005 New Year's Test against Pakistan at the SCG, by which time Punter was well and truly settled in as Australian Test captain, but he made the wait for his 21st Test century worth by scoring another double ton.
No comments:
Post a Comment