AUS v IND 2018-19: Finch showed that he can stand up under pressure, says Ricky Ponting

Finch played a vital knock of 50 off 105 balls to help Australia get off to fantastic start on Day 1 at Perth.

Yeah, Finch was magnificent on Day 1 | Getty

Former skipper Ricky Ponting has said that Aaron Finch has the skill and the technique to survive the onslaught and eventually stand-up to the challenge as well as the pressure of facing the new ball for Australia.

Having been widely criticised for his low scores of 0 & 11 in the first Test at Adelaide, Finch came out and played a fluent and in control knock of 50 from 105 balls to help Australia get off to a possibly match-defining start along with Marcus Harris.

The right-hander stretched a 112-run stand with Harris, when the new Kookaburra ball was going to be the absolute key on a surface designed for bowlers to excel over the batsmen.

"What it showed today to everybody, and more importantly to himself, is that he has got a game that can stand up opening the batting at Test level," Ponting, who was seen guiding Finch through his nets ahead of the match, told cricket.com.au, "He's been working hard on a few things over the last few weeks and I know Justin Langer did a lot of really good stuff with him in Adelaide on the night the (first Test) finished, a few balance things and few things to take the weight out of his front leg and not fall so much across his stumps."

"He had a few moments today where he did that a little bit, but in general I thought he played really well. He looked to be aggressive, play the ball off the back foot, which is a really good sign for him. It means he's not getting onto the front foot too early," he added.

Finch was seen working hard for what has been an obvious weakness of his over the years - the full ball coming into the pads, this is where head coach Justin Langer sought Ponting's help for the opener.

Ponting said, "From Adelaide, in both innings there where he was undone by big in-swinging deliveries, to be able to come out today and look pretty much at ease early on against the in-swinging ball goes to show that he can do it. The way that he plays, looking to get forward and across his stumps, is sort of the way I played."

"It was the little things that I had to work on right through my career, just to help out with my balance and 'un-weighting' my front leg if you like, to load up a bit of weight on my back foot and making one move into the ball rather than trying to make two or three movements."

"The most important thing with Aaron is that I'd rather see him being beaten on the outside of the bat, not the inside of the bat. If he thinks about staying leg-side of the ball and not over-committing to the line too early then I think he's got a very bright future at Test level," he signed off.

 
 

By Kashish Chadha - 15 Dec, 2018

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