India's best chance of beating Australia is to prepare turning wickets: Ricky Ponting

The first day of the Test series opener between India and Australia in Nagpur saw the home side take command of the proceedings, thanks to Ravindra Jadeja's magnificent five-wicket haul. Former Australian skipper Ricky Ponting has given his verdict on the surface in Nagpur, which received much criticism before the match started.

Talking about the pitch, Ricky Ponting stated that he wasn't surprised at all with the state of the pitch, as India needed to prepare a turning track if they wanted to upend the visitors in the ongoing series. He felt Australia's decision to play two off-spinners also handed the advantage to the home side, who boast of three world-class spinners in their ranks.

“I expected today's wicket to play like it has. I got a look at it like everyone did a few days ago, and that's when all the talk started about the surface. But India's best chance of beating Australia is to prepare turning wickets. 

"One, because our batsmen will find it difficult, but also because they would think that their spin bowlers are better than Australia's as well. And the fact that Australia are playing the two right-arm off-spinners here, one of those guys on debut. That's definitely where India have the advantage. So I can understand why it's worked out that way,” Ponting said on the ICC review.

I think Jadeja could very well be the leading wicket-taker in this entire series: Ponting

While much of the talk surrounded India's Ravichandra Ashwin before the Test series opener, it was the returning Ravindra Jadeja who did the damage with the ball. The left-arm spinner returned with impressive figures of 5/47, accounting for two of Australia's best batters, Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne.

Ponting dissected Jadeja's performance on the opening day of the much-awaited series and reckoned the Indian star could be the leading wicket-taker of the series if he manages to maintain his fitness levels.

“Because of how he [Jadeja] bowls on those sort of wickets – the pace that he bowls, the line that he bowls to right-handers in particular, where he is pitching the ball on the stumps all the time, and one would turn and one will slide on, like we saw, with the dismissal of Steven Smith today. As the series goes on, if his body holds up and he can get through the four Test matches, I think he could very well be the leading wicket-taker in this entire series," he added.

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