We have work to do, says Ponting

He had started the series with a century in Bangalore, but Australian skipper Ricky Ponting must feel an age has passed since he raised his bat in the first Test.

He had started the series with a century in Bangalore, but Australian skipper Ricky Ponting must feel an age has passed since he raised his bat in the first Test. With Ishant Sharma keeping him guessing about his next delivery, Ponting8217;s blade has gone silent and, with his team losing the second Test by 320 runs, he knows what could lie ahead.

8220;Since the first innings of the Bangalore Test, we8217;ve been outplayed in every department of the game. They got off to a great start here on the first day and took away the momentum. The target of 469 in the first innings was enormous and our performance did not match the high standards required for chasing that kind of a total,8221; he told reporters. 8220;We didn8217;t bat well, our spinners and fast bowlers struggled, and there was some sloppy fielding. Now that they8217;re one-up in the series, we have a lot of work to do.8221;

Ponting also conceded that his opponents were more positive right through the match. 8220;India played an aggressive brand of cricket and that was very much evident by the way they talked, batted and fielded,8221; he said.

Other than the result, Ponting8217;s main worry is his main bets 8212; Matthew Hayden and Brett Lee 8212; were totally off-colour. 8220;I won8217;t single out Lee. Even Hayden hasn8217;t been performing well. Look, they are great players so you can8217;t write them off by just two games. But yes, it is a worry and since we depended heavily on them I hope they start firing next match onwards,8221; he said. The difference in the two sides, Ponting said, was how Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma got the ball to reverse swing. On the other hand, his quicks 8220;could not get reverse-swing at all8221;.

No fight with Lee

Ponting rubbished talk of differences between him and Lee, after cameras caught Lee yelling at his skipper on the morning of the fourth day, asking for a bowl. 8220;People are trying to make a big issue out of it. Michael Hussey and Cameron White were asked to bowl because we wanted to take the pace off the ball. Around 11 in the morning, Lee wanted to bowl and I told him the reason. After lunch, he resumed.8221;