Ricky Ponting described how Prithvi Shaw leaves a bit of a gap between his bat and pad which sometimes leads to his downfall and that is exactly what happened in the 1st over of the 1st Test between India and Australia on Thursday.
Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting called out the weakness in Prithvi Shaw's batting just moments before the Indian opener's dismissal on Day 1 of the first Test in Adelaide on Thursday.
Ponting, who coaches the Delhi Capitals team in the IPL, called out the chink in Shaw's armour on air during his commentary stint just as Mitchell Starc went through the batsman's bat and pad with the second delivery of the day-night Test at the Adelaide Oval.
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"If he does have a chink in his armour it's the ball which does come back into him...Quite often leaves a big gap between bat and pad and that's where the Aussies will target," Ponting said as he saw Shaw getting bowled by Starc for a duck.
"If he does have a chink in his armour it's the ball which does come back into him...
— 7Cricket (@7Cricket) December 17, 2020
"Quite often leaves a big gap between bat and pad and that's where the Aussies will target." @RickyPonting at his peerless best for the Prithvi Shaw wicket #AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/4nh67zBcpU
Shaw's dismissal was exactly what Ponting described as Starc bowled a good length ball around off stump which came back into the batsman after pitching. Shaw tried to block it but left a little gap between bat and ball which took the inside edge and rattled the stumps behind him.
Shaw's inclusion in the playing XI itself was questionable as he has been struggling right from the first ball he faced in Australia.
The 21-year-old Mumbai batsman flopped in both the tour games against Australia A, managing scores of 0, 19, 40 and 3 but the team management decided to stick with him for the series opener ahead of Shubman Gill, who displayed much better form with the bat with scores of 0, 29, 43 and 65 at the Sydney Cricket Ground.