Ricky Ponting has praised Greg Chappell for helping him overcome his poor record on Indian tracks but the former India coach refused to take credit.
MELBOURNE: Ricky Ponting has praised Greg Chappell for helping him overcome his poor record on Indian tracks but the former India coach refused to take credit and said the Australian captain got the reward for sticking to his simple plans.
Ponting had a poor track record in India till he, under the training of Chappell, now Australian team assistant coach, hit a flawless 123 on the opening day of the first Test in Bangalore and broke the jinx in India.
"It's no rocket science, but Greg was obviously a great player and understands the technique of batting very, very well. He's a very, very good batting coach," Ponting said.
"I think all of us over the last couple of weeks have had opportunities to sit down with him to talk about our games and how we can best adapt them to these conditions.
"There's no doubt he's had some sort of influence on me, as he has with the rest of the guys. He's been a great acquisition to our side," Ponting was quoted as saying by 'The Australian'.
But Chappell preferred to be modest and said Ponting had the ability to better his poor record on Indian pitches.
"Batting's like life. It's about having a plan. Ricky's very generous giving me any credit. He's the one who had to go out there and get the runs. He batted exceptionally well," he said.
"Whenever he's made runs he's had a pretty simple plan. He stuck to it and he got the rewards. He talked about that earlier in the tour. He felt over here at times that he perhaps got away from his game plan a little bit. He didn't trust the method that worked well everywhere else and that let him down," Chappell said.
Ponting's 36th Test century repaired the Indian aberration in his record and allowed him to show the intent of a team that has gone into this series as clear underdog.
"A hundred on the first day of the first Test makes a big statement as captain, particularly a captain who people were trying to put under pressure," Chappell added.
"He's a very committed and competitive individual. I like the way he goes about his cricket and the way he's working with the team on this tour."
"His record's going to stand the test of time. He's now got runs everywhere in style. He's a very committed and competitive individual. I like the way he goes about his cricket and the way he's working with the team on this tour."
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