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October 7, 2024
Vikram Rathour brings a wealth of experience to his coaching role, having played six Tests and seven ODIs for India.
In an impressive performance during the first ODI against England in Nottingham, Australian batter Marnus Labuschagne made history as the first player to score over fifty runs, take three wickets, and secure four catches in a single ODI match. He took three wickets for 39 runs in six overs, dismissing opener Ben Duckett, captain Harry Brook, and Jofra Archer. Labuschagne also took four catches, including those of Duckett, Brook, Jacob Bethell, and Adil Rashid. With the bat, he scored 77 runs off 61 balls, hitting seven fours and two sixes at a strike rate of 126.22.
In the match, England won the toss and chose to bat first. Opener Ben Duckett made a notable contribution with 95 runs off 91 balls, including 11 fours, while Will Jacks added 62 runs from 56 balls, hitting five fours and two sixes. Together, they built a solid partnership of 120 runs for the second wicket.
However, other batters struggled to convert their starts into significant scores. Skipper Harry Brook scored 39 runs from 31 balls with two fours and three sixes, while Jacob Bethell contributed 35 runs off 34 balls with three fours and one six. Despite being in a strong position at 213 for 2 at one point, England was ultimately all out for 315 runs.
Adam Zampa (3 for 49) and Marnus Labuschagne (3 for 34) were the standout bowlers for Australia, with Travis Head also contributing two wickets. Australia’s spinners claimed nine wickets in total, including one by Matthew Short.
During the run chase, Australia faced early setbacks with skipper Mitchell Marsh (10), Steve Smith (32), and Cameron Green (32) falling quickly. However, Travis Head delivered a stunning performance, scoring 154 not out off 129 balls with 20 fours and five sixes. He formed a crucial partnership of 148 runs with Labuschagne, who finished with 77 runs off 61 balls, including seven fours and two sixes. Australia chased down the target in just 44 overs, winning by seven wickets.
Matthew Potts, Jacob Bethell, and Liam Livingstone each took one wicket for England. Head’s all-round performance earned him the ‘Player of the Match’ award, giving Australia a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.
Ricky Ponting’s journey in the IPL began as a player for the Kolkata Knight Riders during the inaugural season in 2008. Recently, he was appointed as the head coach of the Punjab Kings (PBKS) for the 2025 season. Ponting discussed his exit from the Delhi Capitals (DC), explaining that his availability had become a concern and the franchise wanted him to commit as a full-time head coach. His departure from DC marked the end of a seven-year tenure with the team.
Ponting is now the third head coach for PBKS in four seasons, following a disappointing ninth-place finish in the 2024 IPL. The team has not reached the playoffs since 2014, when they were runners-up. One of Ponting’s first responsibilities will be to determine which players to retain ahead of the upcoming season, depending on the finalization of the IPL’s retention rules.
Ricky Ponting’s IPL journey began as a player with the Kolkata Knight Riders in the inaugural 2008 season. He later moved to the Mumbai Indians, where he stepped down from captaincy mid-season in 2013, allowing Rohit Sharma to take over and lead the team to their first title that year. Ponting remained with the franchise as an advisor in 2014 and served as head coach in 2015 and 2016.
In 2018, he became the head coach of the Delhi Capitals, leading the team to three consecutive playoff appearances from 2019 to 2021, including their first final in 2020. After his tenure with the Capitals ended in July 2024, Ponting guided the Washington Freedom to a title in the Major League Cricket (MLC).
In an interview with IPLwin365, Ponting reflected on creating a “family environment” during his time with the Capitals.
“I felt like we created a really good family environment there. As I said, I understand what they want; they said to me that my availability was becoming an issue. And they wanted to pretty much have a full-time head coach. I could not commit to that, so I was disappointed that it ended, but I understand the direction they wanted to head going forward,” said Ponting.
“Everyone that I have been there with, has had a great time. You have only to look at some of the social media posts that Delhi put out straightaway to understand that a lot of the people involved in the franchise were disappointed that I wasn’t continuing as well. But the decisions were made,” he added.
Ponting said that the pressure of winning a trophy weighs heavy on a coach, but he wants that pressure.
“That is the thing that makes coaching inviting to me. I like having that pressure. It is as close to getting back to playing as you can possibly get. From the moment I finished playing, when that competition stops in your life, it is really hard to replace that again. The closest thing I could find to playing was getting back in the cricket team’s changing room being a coach and feeling like you are actually playing again. And coaching against guys that I might have played against and guys that are coaching that I played against–I want to beat them. Simple. A cricket changing room is where I’m supposed to be,” he added.
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Ponting reflected on his IPL journey, noting that he created many great memories, particularly during his time as a coach with the Mumbai Indians, which he described as an “awesome experience.” He also emphasized that the Delhi Capitals’ changing room was a “special place,” even in the absence of a trophy.
“But we made a couple of big slip-ups in our mega-auction a couple of years ago [2022] and even probably our player retentions, and that set us back quite a way. And even this year [2024], little things went against us again, with Rishabh [Pant, DC captain] being suspended for a game that we had to win. We missed the playoffs on run rate. Little things like that add up. The results in T20 games are decided by really small margins. And then our season can be defined by really small margins as well. And we have been on the wrong end of those for a couple of years at DC,” he added.
Regarding the evolution of coaching in the IPL, Ponting noted that coaching has become more specialized. Teams are now appointing coaches for specific roles to ensure that every aspect of the game is covered.
“So you have a lot of the best coaches in the world there at once. And when you have the best coaches and the best players, you are guaranteed to have high-quality cricket. What the IPL has done by having all of these coaches is, I think, the reason that India are actually as good as they are. There has always been that talent in India, but to have that talent around the best coaches for two or three months every year has helped them become better players,” he added.
Ponting mentioned that many IPL franchises are aiming to establish a full-time coaching staff. However, he chose not to pursue this option due to his other commitments and the need for family time during the off-season.
Last season, key performers for Punjab included Harshal Patel, who won the Purple Cap for the second time, as well as uncapped Indian players Shashank Singh and Ashutosh Sharma. The squad also boasts talents like left-arm fast bowler Arshdeep Singh, wicketkeeper-batter Jitesh Sharma, leg-spinner Rahul Chahar, and a strong group of overseas players, including England’s Sam Curran, Liam Livingstone, Jonny Bairstow, and South African pacer Kagiso Rabada. With the recent retirement of Shikhar Dhawan, identifying a new captain will be a top priority for Ponting and the team management.
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