David Warner’s sixth World Cup century has sparked a debate on Australia’s best one-day player.
Adam Gilchrist on the YouTube show ‘Club Prairie Fire’ has put Ricky Ponting ahead of Warner because of the sheer impact he had. Punter, as Ponting is popularly known, was part of three World Cup-winning teams — 1999, 2003 and 2007.
“Warner has been completely dominant statistically,” Gilchrist said. “But I would think about having had the biggest impact result-wise... Ricky Ponting is my biased choice because I played alongside him.”
Rohit Sharma’s batting exploits in the World Cup and Virat Kohli’s awesome record while chasing targets are sure to ignite an argument on India’s best, alongside Sachin Tendulkar. Rohit has seven World Cup centuries while Tendulkar and Warner are tied on six.
India have been riding the Rohit and Kohli run-wave to be placed around the top of the table with an all-win record. Together, they have scored 752 of the 1430 runs posted by India in the six matches with Rohit getting 398.
Even if the middle-order fumbled, the bowlers have made up for it with a disciplined and incisive attack. Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah’s inspirational spell fetched a 100-run victory against England in the face of a modest batting display.
Rohit knows well that there could be days when things may not click. He is aware of
the “upsets” and doesn’t want his players to believe that Thursday’s game against
Sri Lanka “will be a cakewalk”.
The contest will evoke memories of the 2011 final and Sri Lanka coach Chris Silverwood admitted that the players will experience “goosebumps” in their first meeting at this venue since that day.
Rohit though doesn’t think that epic final will “be a factor.”
For much of Wednesday, India’s past and current stars jostled for attention at the Wankhede Stadium. Tendulkar spent much of the afternoon for the unveiling of his statue and the current players arrived only after the ceremony got over.
But Tendulkar perhaps didn’t wish to disturb the players. “Our team has been playing a different brand of cricket and I’m enjoying it. I won’t talk beyond this and nazar nahi lagaunga,” was his honest admission.
The Master knows it best and wants the players to concentrate on their campaign.