Don't think Ponting can break the record of Sachin. Please don't get me wrong, but I don't see a chance. Let me make it clear. More than often you have seen, great innings are always made as a part of some good partnerships. However, in earlier stages Sachin scored a few hundreds without caring much about incompetencies of fellow players, but that is not the case in Australia. Ponting scored the bulk of his runs when the big Matthew Hayden & resolute Justin Langer was reigning supreme at their Opening & most often produced not only big partnerships, but also demoralized the hapless bowlers by simultaneous Attack & Defense. Then after they are out, Ponting used to come and make a mincemeat of the tiring attack. Ponting could afford to play freely majorly due to having an assurance that, either Hayden, Langer, Steve Waugh, Martyn, even Hussey can give him company & he need not worry about Runs scored or wickets falling. Even in worst case, if none of the mentioned players click, in comes Adam Gilchrist, undoubtedly one of the most devastating player in the modern cricket & shoots the Run Rate up to 4 & above. Hell, even Warne & Gillespie could bat out the whole day. But, now the situation is not the same. Hayden, Langer, Steve Waugh, Martyn, Warne, Gillespie, Gilchrist has all retired. The team is not the same anymore. Hussey is consistent, but he is going to finish very soon. Clarke is a completely overhyped player. So, now Ponting is more or less out of company. You just check how many centuries did Ponting score after their famous Openers retired. Ponting always thrived upon their Openers' conquests. He is a good player, but he is never an all-condition player. Good partnerships nourished his scoring. Since that golden generation is no more, I don't see Ponting scoring much these days. In fact that Carbon-fibre illegal bat is banned which he used to hit those big sixes effortlessly even with mistimed slog shots. All in while, the story for Sachin was not the same. He scored even before Dravid, Laxman, Ganguly was there, he scored with them with equal ease. He scored with Sehwag, Gambhir, Yuvraj, Dhoni. He scored with Azhar, Jadeja, Vengsarkar, Sidhu, Shastri. He scored in the worst of the Spinning tracks, he scored in the fastest & the bounciest tracks. He both assumed the role of One-Man-Army & also playing second fiddle to the brilliant Laxman in Australia. That concludes our point. Ponting has never been this much versatile, hence I don't see him Catching up with the God of Cricket in Tests (forget ODIs). The only place I see Ponting surpassing Sachin is in International Twenty20s, since Sachin has decided to stay out of it. So, I would suggest all my fellow believers in Sachinism, just don't be anxious (even if your heart cries in anguish), no one can touch Sachin records under any circumstances. |
