Ganguly advises Ponting against fielding first

Zeecric Bureau

New Delhi: Australian skipper Ricky Ponting would have realized his mistake of fielding first in the second one-day international at Nagpur after India posted a mammoth total on the board and went on to thump the tourists by a comfortable margin.

Before the third game of the tournament, which is scheduled to be played at Delhi on Saturday, there is more advice for the Oz captain.

In his column for a leading Indian newspaper, former Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly has advised Ponting not to field first against the strong Indian batting line-up unless the conditions are extremely favourable for the bowlers as it will then be difficult to restrict the home team to under 300, which will mean that the inexperienced Aussie batting will be up against a mountain to climb.

Ponting reasoned that dew was a factor in his decision to field first at Nagpur but according to Ganguly it comes so late in the game that everything could be over by then.

Ganguly also says that bowling is the major worry for Ponting as none of the bowlers except Peter Siddle has managed to bowl a consistent line and length.

Ganguly further writes that Dhoni is at his attacking best when he comes in with a few overs in hand, just like the case in Nagpur.