Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting has made a big claim after Mitchell Starc’s match-winning performance with the ball in the pink-ball Test in Adelaide against India. Ponting reckons that Yashasvi Jaiswal’s sledge in the Perth Test provoked Starc to produce a stunning performance.

Mitchell Starc was on fire in Adelaide and even struck with his first ball of the match. Interestingly, the wicket was of India’s opener Yashasvi Jaiswal, who had famously sledged the fast bowler in Perth, claiming that he was “bowling too slow”.

Jaiswal looked in good form in the second innings of the Perth Test and went on to slam his first hundred on Australian soil. He looked solid and confident and didn’t stop himself from sledging Starc as well.

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Ricky Ponting credits Yashasvi Jaiswal for Mitchell Starc’s performance in Adelaide

While Yashasvi Jaiswal sledged Mitchell Starc, the latter responded with a wry smile but didn’t say a word. Ricky Ponting recently spoke about Starc’s thrilling performance in Adelaide and claimed that he is usually a calm person.

However, Ponting mentioned that if the fast bowler is provoked by anyone, he can come up with a fiery performance like he did in Adelaide. The former Australia batter was clearly referring to the sledge by Yashasvi Jaiswal in Perth.

“He’s actually a pretty level-headed guy, Mitchell Starc. He doesn’t get flustered too much, even you see when he’s bowling now. And if one of the batters does happen to say something, he generally responds with a little smile on his face,” Ponting noted

But I think that smile on his face might be just a bit of a cover for the fire that’s burning inside. Look, he bowled beautifully in Adelaide didn’t he?” he claimed.

Ricky Ponting lauds Mitchell Starc

Further speaking on Starc’s spell, Ponting praised him for being as consistent as ever. He credited Starc for being threatening even at this stage of his career and claimed that the left-arm quick is “in absolute prime” currently.

“He certainly deserves high praise. I mean, he’s probably in the last couple of years been better than he’s ever been. And the reason that I say that is I think he’s a more consistent bowler now than he’s ever been before, yet his pace is still about the same as it always was,” Ponting explained.

“I mean, he could bowl over 150km/h probably a few years ago and he’s in absolute prime now. He’s sort of operating in the mid-140s, but his consistency, the way he’s starting spells is really good now as well,” he added.

Starc has been Australia’s premier fast bowler in all formats for a long time. Over the years. he has seen many stages but he has been lethal with the ball, thus causing trouble for the opposition.

Mitchell Starc in the Adelaide Test

Mitchell Starc finished with figures of 2-14 and 1-111 across the Perth Test. He was taken to the cleaners in the second innings by an in-form Yashasvi Jaiswal. However, the experienced fast bowler came back in style in the second Test.

He picked up Jaiswal’s wicket in the first ball of the match and went on to pick up a brilliant six-wicket haul in the first innings. Starc picked up 6-48 and 2-60 across the two innings as the Indian batters were constantly troubled by some high-class bowling.