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ShareNew Delhi: Ahead of Saturday's third ODI against India, Australia skipper Ricky Ponting on Friday accused the groundsmen at Feroz Shah stadium of hampering their morning practice session by watering the pitch.
"I was disappointed when I had a look at the practice wicket which was watered this morning. Everyone in the world except the groundsmen knew that we were coming for training, and when we came it was completely unusable. By the time India will arrive, the wicket will be fine and it's a disadvantage for us," Ponting said.
The Australian team had arrived in the national capital on Thursday, and was scheduled for practice session in the stadium, but Ponting alleged that the wicket was not in a condition to be used.
Ponting also said the groundsmen were giving preference to Team India, which was to practice later in the day.
He also admitted that the Australian bowling department was facing a big problem in the final stages of the match and highlighted the 87 runs conceded by it in the first ODI in Vadodara and 108 runs in the second game in Nagpur.
"We missed Brett (Lee) in Nagpur. Brett is one guy who bowls so well at death, but when you have Dhoni in the end, you got to concede extra runs. We all know how dangerous he is," he said.
Ponting said his team's lack of prowess in bowling the death overs had increased in the past week due to the hamstring injury to all-rounder James Hopes, which has forced other bowlers to close out the innings in the opening two matches of the series.
