WTC Final 2023: Need Those Guys In Your Side - Ponting Hails 'Ultimate Competitor' Siraj

Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting has said India pacer Mohammed Siraj crosses the line with his aggression at times, but believes the team needs someone like him when things aren't going too well.

Siraj (4/108) accounted for Usman Khawaja (0), Head (163), Pat Cummins (9) and Nathan Lyon (9) to bring up his 50 wickets in Test cricket. The was perhaps the only bright spot for India with the ball.

Siraj, who reached 50 wickets in the longest format, showcased his anger during the first session of day 2 of the WTC Final when he threw the ball angrily towards Steve Smith, who had moved away when the pacer was about to deliver the ball.

The Indian pacer had received a lot of heat from fans on Social Media for the behaviour. He had also shown this aggressive side during the IPL 2023 when he got into an heated exchange with Delhi Capitals batter Phil Salt, who had hit him for successive boundaries.

Although he received flak, Ponting praised Siraj for his tenacity, calling him the "ultimate competitor" who bowled with consistent pace and showed much-needed aggression on day 2 of the WTC Final 2023.

"I loved seeing that and he looks like the ultimate competitor. Maybe sometimes he gets carried away and goes a little bit over the top, but you need those guys in your side when things aren't going well," Ponting told the ICC on Thursday (June 8).

"He was the one today (Thursday) who said I am going to be the guy that is going to turn things around and what I loved was that his pace didn't drop at all during the whole innings.

"From the first ball yesterday morning until late this afternoon, his pace was hovering around that 86 or 87-mile and hour mark and that says a lot about a great attitude."

Why Siraj hurled ball at Smith?

Siraj also had a bizzare explanation to defend himself from the episode with Smith during the post-match press conference, calling the aggression as his way of enjoying bowling.

"It's nothing. It was just some enjoyment. If you enjoy - your mind will be relaxed. If you take too much pressure, it will affect your bowling. So, it's nothing," Siraj said. "It was nothing. No plans of frustrating him. I was just enjoying my bowling. I was frustrated at that time."

Siraj bowled his best, but the other India could not stop Australia from amassing 469 runs in the first innings at The Oval with Travis Head (163) and Steve Smith (121) scoring centuries.

Ponting on Indian bowling

The former Australia captain feels India "let themselves down" by not bowling fuller and sticking to short pitch bowling even in the first hour on day 1 at the Kennington Oval.

"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," Ponting added.

"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)," said Ponting, recalling the first session on the opening day, which so far has been the best in terms of assistance to fast bowlers.

Without getting into the discussion of whether India should have played Ravichnadran Ashwin in the WTC final, Ponting said India's decision to play four seamers might pay its dividends later in the game.

"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 (Rohit Sharma) out in the middle yesterday morning and they had a long discussion about what they wanted to do at the toss." Ponting said.

"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.

As it stands, at stumps on day 2 India has lost half their side with 151 runs on board and still trail by 318 runs. Ajinky Rahane (29*) and KS Bharat (5*) will have their task cut out as the Indians will look to cut short the Australian lead on day 3.

(With PTI inputs)