By IANS,
Bangalore : Australian captain Ricky Ponting unleashed his mind games ahead of the first Test against India starting here Thursday, saying Sourav Ganguly’s retirement will be a distraction for the home team.
“It will certainly be a distraction. We have experienced it when Steve Waugh, Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath and Adam Gilchrist retired,” Ponting said at a pre-match press meet Thursday.
“Ganguly’s decision will take the pressure off him but it will be on other Indian players,” he said.
On a positive note, Ponting said since this will be Ganguly’s last Test series, “there will be more spectators at the stadium. This will add to the overall spectacle of the series.”
Asked about his team’s game plan, Ponting said: “we want to focus on a couple of run outs to change the course of the match when the Indian batsmen are in the middle.”
“We will try and put pressure on their running between the wickets as we have got some top inner ring fielders. This apart, we will also put pressure on their fielding when we go out to bat,” Ponting said.
The Australian captain said he was satisfied with the pitch at the Chinnaswamy stadium.
“The pitch has changed a little bit compared to what it was Tuesday afternoon. It looks very good to me.”
“Greg Chappell also feels the pitch looks like helping batsmen in the first couple of days before helping the spinners. It’s overcast and humid out here and there will be variation in the bounce as the match progresses.”
Ponting said his deputy Michael Clark, who had a stomach bug Tuesday, will take the field Thursday.
“He will be available for the first Test. He took part in the training session Wednesday and is feeling good. He will be fine for the game.”