Chawla opens old wounds

For someone with an average of 12 from eight Tests in India -and an embarrassing record of getting out 13 times in 14...

For someone with an average of 12 from eight Tests in India 8212;and an embarrassing record of getting out 13 times in 14 innings to slow bowlers here 8212; Ricky Ponting8217;s spin-phobia is well documented. Though the players from both sides have repeatedly said that not much should be read from warm-up games, the 8216;Ponting b Piyush Chawla8217; on Friday8217;s scoreboard will take some wiping off from memory. Spin, as has been said through the build-up to this series, will play a decisive role.

If coach Tim Nielsen was finding it tough to give a positive spin to offie Jason Krejza8217;s figures of 20-1-123-0 on Thursday, Friday was all about the Aussies dealing 8212; or not 8212; with the turning ball. After the Board President8217;s XI finished their first innings at a robust 455, courtesy Irfan Pathan8217;s fine 56, the Australians finished the day at 191/4.

Though the home team too had similar jitters on Thursday, when they were 120/4 at one point, the Aussie camp had reason to be a disappointed lot.

Three of the four Australian wickets to fall on Friday went to spinners, and it doesn8217;t take a rocket scientist to predict what kind of track can be expected for the first Test in Bangalore.

With the Aussies deciding to send back the injured leggie Bryce McGain, the hugely disappointing Krejza, at present, happens to be their only spin hope.

Poor start

The Australians might have hoped to wind up the President8217;s XI innings in a hurry, but that wasn8217;t to be as Pathan, along with Piyush Chawla and Pragyan Ojha, kept piling on the misery.

And when they finally got their turn to bat, Pathan got back in the mix, picking up the all-important breakthrough by getting Matthew Hayden out.

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After that, the spinners took over. Left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha got rid of the other opener Simon Katich in his second over and that saw the Aussies going on the back foot, literally.

That was also when Ponting8217;s uphill battle began. More than facing the dual spin attack of Ojha and Chawla, Ponting seemed like he was dealing with the demons within. Sticking to the basic rule of reaching to the pitch of the ball to curb the spin, Ponting had a highly pronounced forward movement. Despite this effort, the Aussie skipper8217;s early stay at the crease was edgy 8212; there were times when he completely failed to read the trajectory of the ball.

Attacking option

When he found out that his defence wasn8217;t quite foolproof, he opted to attack. After he hit Ojha for two sixes, it seemed Ponting had cracked the code to play spinners in India. But nine short of his half-century, Chawla struck. It was a brilliantly executed plan. The first ball of Chawla8217;s seventh over was the straighter one that Ponting left. This was followed by a perfectly pitched googly. As Ponting reached for the ball, it suddenly dipped, leaving the bat inches short from the pitch of the ball. Ponting8217;s embarrassment was complete as the ball, instead of breaking out to where his bat hung helplessly, cut in and took middle-stump out of the equation.

Speaking about the prize wicket, Chawla said, 8220;I have seen him bat on television, so I knew where I should bowl to him. Not many in Indian cricket would have missed off-spinner Harbhajan Singh8217;s famous battles against Ponting. Several times in his career Harbhajan has found the way between Ponting8217;s bat and pad.

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And Indian spinners will once again be licking their lips in anticipation after watching Friday8217;s lunge.