'You've been a bunny' - Gautam Gambhir reveals how he sledged Ricky Ponting in Bengaluru

If there is one Indian batsman who knew how to give it back to the bowlers and fielders while batting, it has to be Gautam Gambhir. Throughout his career, Gambhir has had some altercations on the field with players of the opposition team. In the early days of his career, he had an altercation with Andre Nel. He also had on-field spats with players like Shane Watson, Simon Katich, Kamran Akmal, and Shahid Afridi.

In a recent interaction, the former Indian batsman Gambhir revealed one of the best sledging stories. During a show, he was asked, “Who did you enjoy sledging the most?” To this, the Delhi batsman took the name of former Australia captain Ricky Ponting.

The former opener recalled an incident that had happened back in 2008 during the Border Gavaskar Trophy in India. Gambhir revealed that Ponting tried to provoke him by saying something during the first Test in Bengaluru.

“To be honest, you have been a bunny,” when Gautam Gambhir reminded Ricky Ponting about his record in India

“Ricky Ponting, maybe. That was in 2008 when Anil Kumble was the captain. In the series when I got my double hundred. In the first Test match, I think it was in Bengaluru, he said something when I was batting,” the 38-year-old recalled, during a Star Sports show Cricket Connected.

The Delhi batsman recalled how he gave a savage reply to the then Australian captain. “He was at silly point, and he said ‘you haven’t set the world on fire’. I said ‘Neither have you in India. To be honest, you have been a bunny’. His record says that as well, he’s been a bunny in India,” Gambhir further added.

Ponting actually has a very poor record in India with the bat in Tests. He has scored only 662 runs in 14 Tests at an average of 26.48. His career average was 51.85. The Tasmanian batsman had his struggle against spin which led to his awful record in India. He scored only one century in India. Interestingly, that only century came in the Bangalore Test against India in 2008.

His captaincy record was also not good in India. Australia has never won a Test match under the captaincy of Ricky Ponting in India. India even won the Border Gavaskar Trophy in India in 2008 by a 2-0 margin. Gambhir got a superb double ton at his home ground in Delhi in the third Test.