'Puraane cheezo ke upar toh baat hui nahi' - Harbhajan Singh discloses conversation with Ricky Ponting

Former India cricketer, Harbhajan Singh, opened up on the conversation he had with an Australian legend ahead of the commencement of the second Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. The ongoing day-night game commenced on November 6, 2024.

While commentating as a part of the Hindi crew during the game, Harbhajan reflected on his conversation with Ricky Ponting about the Punjab Kings. 

"Aaj baat yeh hui ki Punjab ki team kaise banayi hai, maine toh yeh pucha. Puraane cheezo ke upar toh baat hui nahi. (today, I asked him that how the PBKS team is looking him. We did not speak about the old days). He (Ponting) said, 'mate, you're looking fitter than ever.' So, I told him that I am trying to stay fit and step out on the ground again, even though if it is with the mic," shared Harbhajan.

Interestingly, Harbhajan and Ponting have been fierce competitors while on the field. In the past, there have been quite some instances of both of them being involved in fiery encounters while representing their respective nations. Both of them have also been a part of the same setup of Mumbai Indians, dating way back to 2013. In the 627 deliveries that Harbhajan has bowled to Ponting across 40 innings, Ponting has averaged 38 and has gotten dismissed 12 times in total. 

India get shot out for 180 on Day 1, Australia in control

Coming to the developments that have engulfed the ongoing game so far, it was Mitchell Starc's brilliant exhibition of red-ball bowling that brought about the downfall of six of the Indian batters. Nitish Kumar Reddy once again shone with the bat and top-scored. A couple of 30s and 20s, respectively, were the only other contributors as India folded for a paltry score.

Also Check: Twitter Reactions: Mitchell Starc floors India with six-for on first day of pink-ball Test

As far as Australia's reply, it has been quite sedated so far. However, at the time of writing, they have lost just one wicket in the form of Usman Khawaja. India have bowled decent channels but have unable to break through the Australian batting lineup, other than the lone wicket so far.