The Hindu : Ponting hammers century

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Aug 07, 2003

Sport

Sport - Cricket

Ponting hammers century

— Photo: Hamish Blair/Getty Images

Australian captain Ricky Ponting plays a forcing shot during his century knock in the third and final One-day International against Bangladesh at Darwin on Wednesday.

DARWIN (Australia) Aug. 6. Skipper Ricky Ponting blazed a century on Wednesday as the world champion Australians crushed Bangladesh by 112 runs to complete Test and limited-overs series whitewashes of the touring cricket minnows.

Ponting won the toss and elected to bat first for the first time in three limited-overs matches, scoring 101 from 118 balls as Australia reached 254 for seven from 50 overs.

Bangladesh was skittled for 142 in 47.3 overs in reply, with all-rounder Ian Harvey snaring four wickets.

The Bangladeshis lost their first wicket in the fifth over with the total at four and were reeling at 36 for five in the 17th. Alok Kopali led a middle-order revival but the tail crumbled after he was caught and bowled by Brad Hogg for 49. Hogg returned 2-32, snaring the key wickets of Kopali and Sanwar Hossain (27).

Australia won the first two one-dayers by eight and nine wickets — batting second and scoring the runs inside half the allotted overs — and had innings victories in both Test matches.

Dav Whatmore, a former Australian Test batsman and Sri Lanka coach who was in charge of Bangladesh for the first time, said his players had learned valuable lessons touring the world's No. 1 cricket nation.

``Basically it's just an appreciation of relentless pressure from a good opposition,'' said Whatmore, reflecting on the tour. ``The only thing we have got to guard against is a loss of confidence."

AUSTRALIA

A. Gilchrist c Sarkar b Rafique 31

M. Hayden c & b Rafique 42

R. Ponting c Tushar Imran
b Baisya
101

D. Martin b Kapali 1

A. Symonds run out 0

M. Bevan b Mashrafe 57

I. Harvey c Rafique b Mashrafe 5

B. Hogg (not out) 4

Extras (lb-7, w-5, nb-1) 13

— —

Total (for seven wkts. in 50 overs) 254

— —

Fall of wickets: 1-51, 2-112, 3-113, 4-114, 5-241, 6-247, 7-254.

BANGLADESH BOWLING

O M R W

Mortaza 10 2 41 2

Baisya 10 0 63 1

Mahmud 8 0 57 0

Rafique 10 0 31 2

Kapali 10 1 43 1

Hossain 2 0 12 0

BANGLADESH

H. Sarkar lbw b Gillespie 1

J. Omar lbw b Harvey 16

H. Bashar c Ponting b Bichel 2

S. Hossain c & b Hogg 27

T. Imran run out 1

M. Ashraful b Harvey 4

A. Kapali c & b Hogg 49

K. Mahmud run out 5

T. Baisya c Ponting b Harvey 11

M. Rafique (not out) 8

M. Mortaza b Harvey 2

Extras (b-11, w-5) 16

— —

Total (in 47.3 overs) 142

— —