Australia have a model to beat India, says Ricky Ponting

Australia came back strong from being 0-1 down in Perth to win the second Test by 146 runs against India and now both teams look forward to take an unassailable lead in the four-game series in Melbourne where the third Test will begin on Boxing Day. Former Australian captain Ricky Ponting, one of the most successful ones the game has seen, feels the hosts now have a model to beat Virat Kohli’s men and should build on it heading into the crucial tie.

India, who won the first Test in Adelaide by 31 runs after making a comeback into the game after early setbacks, failed with the bat in both innings of the new Perth Stadium even as their bowlers did well to restrict Australia from running away with the game in each innings. Barring Kohli’s century and a half-century from vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane, none of the Indian batsmen succeeded in making a mark in the game.

Both teams fell short of the mark in Perth, feels Ponting

“Just not relax. They’ve set a bit of blueprint this week (of how to beat India) with the way they’ve played. They just have to build on that now. There’s no doubt with one win a bit of belief comes but they can’t just rock up in Melbourne and expect India are going to play like they did here,” cricket.com.au quoted Ponting as saying.

The two-time World Cup winning captain also said both the teams fell short of the standards expected from them and predicted India to bounce back in the remaining two Tests in Melbourne and Sydney saying conditions in those two venues will suit the tourists more.

The win in Adelaide saw for the first time India win the first Test of a series in Australia, one of the two nations where they are yet to secure a series in the longer format. The win in Perth was the first both for Tim Paine as captain and Justin Langer as coach.

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