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Ricky Ponting begins second innings

Aussie great impresses in his first day as coach of Mumbai Indians

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Ricky Ponting (centre) offers Parthiv Patel (right) some batting tips during a Mumbai Indians’ practice session at the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai on Tuesday
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Mumbai Indians's first practice session on Monday evening, ahead of the Indian Premier League 8, was a routine affair. Players enjoyed a brief football session before getting into the nets. However, one man stole all the limelight.

It was Australian great Ricky Ponting, who on Monday started second innings of his career in cricket — as coach of the star-studded Mumbai Indians. It's his first stint as a coach of any team.

He climbed down the iconic dressing room of the Wankhede Stadium around 4 pm, with a file in his right hand. He stepped into the ground before the players and seemed eager to start his maiden coaching session.

At 40, Ponting still looked like one among the players, fitter than many of them. He exuded childlike enthusiasm, hopping from one place to another. He was restless and chewed his nails like he would standing in the slips or in the covers during his playing days.

Ponting did not appear like he was short of ideas. He started his cricket gyan with Delhi opener and MI's newly-bought talented youngster Unmukt Chand. Ponting tweaked his backlift and opened the face of the bat. The little change worked as one found Chand dominating the net bowlers throwing them into the stands, exhibiting his big-hitting skills.

Ponting then spent time with MI's newly-acquired all-rounders Hardik Pandya from Baroda and south-paw Nitish Rana of Delhi. Both were bought at a price of Rs 10 lakh during the auction in February.

Ponting not only adjusted their backlift, but also taught them his bread-butter shot – the pull. After watching them bat in the nets, he also gave them throw downs. He started with under-arm full tosses before bumping the ball short from half of the crease to let them attempt those pulls and hook shots.

Pandya was obviously happy with the time he spent with Punter. Before the auction, he hadn't imagined learning pulls and hooks from the master himself. "His advice was really good. He just asked me to keep it down. I really enjoyed learning from him," said the 21-year-old.

Ponting was not over yet. He continued giving throw downs to Aiden Blizzard even as sun was about to set. As the last batsman finished, Ponting too, chose to return. He was the last person to climb the stairs of the pavilion but not without a smile while posing for selfie with a fan.

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