A tour to Australia is very exciting as everyone gets involved in it which hypes up the contest. Before the series, from media and fans to former cricketers from both sides make sure that everyone word they utter should come out with a purpose. The war of words on and off the field is very common now. It is used as a strategy.
India and Australia are ready to come one-on-one against each other for the first Test on December 6. The hosts will have to go hard against the Indian captain Virat Kohli if they want to produce a chance of winning the series. Currently, India is labeled as favorites for the four-match Test series.
Former Australian captain Ricky Ponting who was known to give it back with both, words and bat, has suggested something to his countrymen. He told them to not let Kohli bully them and advised to play 'in-your-face' cricket with him.
Virat can be rattled, believes Ponting. “Well, he might. I don’t necessarily believe that he is someone you shouldn’t try to get under his skin. I have seen him rattled. "
“Mitchell Johnson definitely rattled him a few times with some good hostile bowling and some good hostile body language around him. So, I would not sit back and let anyone bully,” Ponting told Cricket Australia website. “The way we go about playing cricket, especially at home, it is about good strong body language. That is the way Australians have always played their best.”
Ponting isn't in favor of playing silent cricket. He said Australia should go with an aggressive mindset. “Yes, Australian teams of the past have always had few words to say but it was always on the back of some good hostile bowling, you can’t do without it. It is rubbish otherwise. You have to able to impose yourself on the game in a way other than using your mouth. You got to use your actions and skills.”
To stop someone like Kohli who has got runs on his back, it won't be easy for the Aussie bowlers to stop him. Ponting came up with a suggestion about how to stop the run-hungry Virat. “With someone like him who likes to score freely, he has obviously got a big ego, there are other things you can do. Don’t let him score boundaries early on. Try and ball tight consistent stuff,” he said.
“He also likes to run the ball down to the third man so maybe play around with guys behind the wicket in different areas, just get inside his head as to what we are trying to do. Another thing I will be doing is going back and looking at who has had the most success against him and why. The first one that comes to mind is James Anderson. He seems to trouble him the most,” added Ponting.
