Ponting: We were in for a tough chase

Australia captain Ricky Ponting admitted his side would have had to bat out of their skin to chase Sri Lanka total if rain had not interrupted.

By Rajarshi Gupta in Colombo

The Group A clash between Australia and Sri Lanka was well poised after 32 overs before unseasonal rain ruined the party for a packed Premadasa Stadium. Sri Lankan captain Kumar Sangakkara (73 not out) and Thilan Samaraweera (37 not out) had stitched up a solid 71-run partnership and Australia had a battle on their hands. Ponting conceded as much after play was officially called off on Saturday night.

“We may have had a good game of cricket but unfortunately the rain came down. Ideally, I would have liked to make a breakthrough before the change of ball (in the 34th over). Sri Lanka were batting well and it would have been a tough target to chase down, considering they had three spinners and the way the wicket was playing.”

Sangakkara seemed more upset than Ponting after the abandonment, probably because he realised how effective his spinners might have been on a surface that was already assisting Jason Krejza in the first innings.

“The game was well-poised and I think a score of 250 or above would have given us a great match. We had a look at the pitch on Friday and since it was the second match being played here (after the Pakistan vs Canada game), our spinners would have been difficult to put away on this wicket,” Sangakkara told journalists on Saturday.

Sri Lanka might have been well placed for a challenging total but Ponting said he was happy with the way his bowlers had stood up on a track that was not conducive to Australia’s style of play.

“The pitch was a little similar to the one we played in Bangalore in the sense that the Premadasa wicket was turning very early in the match.

“I thought Jason Krejza bowled very well and his spell against a world-class batsman like Sangakkara was really good. I used the spinners in tandem exactly because the wicket was slow and they did well under pressure.”

Despite the conditions being tailor-made for spinners to exploit, Australia were expected to pound the Sri Lankans with their pacers but Shaun Tait bowled only four overs after he removed Tillekaratne Dilshan. Brett Lee had to be content with five overs as well while Mitchell Johnson got just four over. Ponting revealed the heat forced him to use his express bowlers sparingly.

“I like to use Tait in two or three overs spells. If he doesn’t get wickets early, he doesn’t take any in the game- he is that kind of bowler. And in any case, it was just too hot and humid to let the fast bowlers bowl long spells,” Ponting, trying to win his third successive ICC Cricket World Cup as captain, said.

Australia will now travel to India to play Kenya in Bangalore on March 13.