I still get nightmares about Harbhajan Singh, says Ricky Ponting 1

The game has seen some epic duels between batsmen and bowlers and one of them was between former Australian skipper Ricky Ponting and Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh. It had all started back in 1998 during an ODI  in Sharjah when a 17-year-old Harbhajan, playing in just his fourth ODI, had Ponting stumped and celebrated by marching down the wicket towards him, shouting in his face and giving him some very specific directions back to the pavilion. Ever since then the off-spinner became one of the toughest bowlers for the legendary batsman as Harbhajan came out on top on almost every occasion.

Harbhajan dismissed Ponting on 10 occasions in Tests – more than any other bowler – including three ducks. Ponting’s overall Test batting average of 51.85 dropped to 22.30 against the Indian spinner. In fact, Bhajji, as the spinner is fondly called, once said: “Ponting has a lot to say about our players and about the way we play our cricket.In fact, it is Ponting who first needs to go and learn to bat against spin bowling. I can get Ponting out any time.”

And now the former Australian skipper has confessed that Harbhajan Singh  still continues to give him nightmares. Ponting told ANI, “My arch nemesis when I was playing against India was Harbhajan Singh, I still get nightmares about him.”

 

Ponting was recently named as the brand ambassador of his home state Tasmania. He will travel from September 2 to 11 in India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia and Singapore to promote Tasmania. During his trip to India, Ponting will be engaged in high-level business contacts, promote education initiatives with ties to Launceston, and promote the state’s high-quality experiences, food, and beverages.
In an illustrious career Ponting scored 13378 runs in 168 Test matches and 13704 runs in 375 ODI’s. He has 41 Test centuries and 30 one-day international tons to his name, while 144 half centuries.

The retired cricketer is currently serving as a coach of IPL franchise Mumbai Indians.