India let themselves down in the first hour of Day 1 of WTC Final: Ricky Ponting

Former Australian skipper Ricky Ponting feels that the Indian bowlers could have exploited the conditions a bit more effectively, primarily on Day 1 of the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final against Australia at the Kennington Oval in London. Ponting observed that India let themselves down in the first hour of the first day of the World Test Championship final while reminiscing on how they performed during the first two days of the WTC final. India, who had won the toss and elected to bowl first, permitted Australia to score 73/2 before lunch.

Australia have dominated the first two days of the World Test Championship at The Oval. On the back of centuries from Travis Head and Steve Smith, Australia posted a commanding 469-run total. They followed it up with precise wicket-to-wicket bowling that saw India close at 151/5 by the end of Day 2, trailing by 318 runs. With India seemingly struggling ever since Rohit Sharma invited the Aussies to bat first, Ricky Ponting believes the Men in Blue let things go in the first hour on Wednesday.

The 48-year-old reflected that India needed to have Australia four or five down by lunch and it could have worked very well for Rohit Sharma and his men. "I think where they let themselves down was in the first hour yesterday and bowling too short. With the wicket conditions, the overhead conditions they had, and the brand-new Dukes ball, they had to bowl fuller and get the ball driven back down the ground. They needed to have Australia four or five down at lunch and they only had them two down, which was a pretty good result (for Australia)," Ponting was quoted as saying to the ICC.

Playing four seamers and leaving Ashwin was the only option: Ponting

Ponting added that he witnessed captain Rohit and head coach Rahul Dravid discussing what India would do if they won the toss. The former cricketer also said deciding to field after winning the toss was a bold decision. He added that once you make that decision, playing four seamers and leaving Ashwin out was the only option.

"I know the captain wears the brunt of it (criticism), but I know it’s not only his decision. I saw Rahul Dravid and him out (Rohit) in the middle yesterday morning and they had a long discussion about what they wanted to do at the toss. If they wanted to bowl first I think they had to play the four seamers. So far you would say it hasn’t paid off - but there is a long way to go and we probably shouldn’t be too quick to judge," he added further.