India keeper-batter Dinesh Karthik had some fun with legendary Ricky Ponting as they and Mark Taylor were commentating on day 4 of the ongoing fifth Ashes 2023 Test at the Oval. Australia has been set 384 runs to win the match and the series.
In response, openers David Warner and Usman Khawaja hit unbeaten fifties as Australia ended day 4 on 135/0.
Mark Taylor and Ricky Ponting, both highly successful former Australia captains, were all praise for the pair as they went about negating the threat posed by the England attack which includes a retiring Stuart Broad.
This allowed Dinesh Karthik to roast the pair by reminding them what happened in the 2005 Ashes. Karthik was talking about the fourth Test of the 2005 Ashes series, which was level 1-1 at the time.
“The two Australian commentators here going gaga over how well Australia is going. Here is a moment though, that happened a few Ashes ago. Ricky Ponting and Michael Hussey had put on a partnership of 127 before this happened. What happened after that, I think it is best Ricky explains. They lost the Test and the Ashes post that,” said Karthik, drawing loud laughter from the commentary box.
Taylor then responded by saying: “Gee, have a bit of that! There you go. Dinesh Karthik has become an honorary Englishman overnight”. This led to Karthik's fist bumping with a SKY sports team member.
Not the one to stay behind, Ponting retorted: “He’s making sure he’s got a contract next year. Locking himself, in the Sky box. Good work, DK. And he’s getting knuckles from the rest of them up the back as well. Wearing ill on us Australians.”
Broad’s fifer and Jonathan Trott’s display with the bat helped England post a mammoth target of 546 for Australia to chase. Ponting and Hussey had put the hosts on the back foot with a partnership of 127 off 239 balls. Andrew Flintoff then changed the game with a gun throw from mid-on and ran out Ponting on 66.
Hussey remained unbeaten on 121 but Australia folded for 348, thus losing the Test by 197 runs and eventually losing the series 2-1.
