Ponting suggests Jaiswal's remark sparked Starc's career-best performance

Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting believes a cheeky comment from India opener Yashasvi Jaiswal may have fueled Mitchell Starc's career-best performance during the second Test in Adelaide, as per ICC. Jaiswal had impressed with a remarkable knock of 161 in the series opener in Perth. However, his comment about Starc "bowling too slow" might have inadvertently motivated the Australian fast bowler.

The remark elicited a wry smile from Starc at the time, but he had the final say when he dismissed Jaiswal for a duck with a superb delivery on the first ball of the match in Adelaide.

"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," Ponting said in the latest episode of The ICC Review.

"And if one of the batters does happen to say something, he generally responds with a little smile on his face," he said, as quoted by ICC.

"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 added.

He also praised the rest of the Australian team, particularly Pat Cummins and Travis Head, for their vital contributions in securing a dominant 10-wicket victory, which leveled the series at 1-1.

"I said in the lead-up that Australia's senior players had to really stand up and change what had happened in Perth," Ponting noted, as quoted by ICC.

"When they lost the toss, and Australia were bowling, it was up to Cummins and Starc to set the tone from the very start of that game," he added.

"Starc takes a wicket first ball, happens to beat Jaiswal that had made 160 in the last innings he played against Australia. And that really set the tone for the whole Test match. I thought Starc was outstanding. Career-best figures 6/48 in the first innings and then the captain (Cummins) comes into his own in the second innings and leads the way with the ball in the second innings. So lots of really good signs," he noted.

"That's the sort of bounce-back that you would expect from the Australian team. Their senior players standing up and Travis doing what he did. That's what they needed to do. So they got the job done and now they've got to do it again next week in Brisbane," Ponting said.

At 34, Mitchell Starc remains one of the most accomplished pacers in contemporary cricket, with 692 wickets across all formats. His accolades include two ICC Men's Cricket World Cup titles (2015 and 2023), the ICC Men's T20 World Cup in 2021, and the ICC World Test Championship in 2023.

Despite his successful career, Starc is sometimes overlooked in discussions of the greatest bowlers of recent times. Ponting, however, was effusive in his praise, highlighting how Starc has adapted his bowling style to sustain his performance across all formats.

"He certainly deserves high praise. I mean, he's probably in the last couple of years been better than he's ever been," Ponting noted, according to ICC.

"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. 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 said.

"I was really impressed by how he started his first spell in Perth and then the way he started his first spell in Adelaide was obviously unbelievably good. So his pink-ball record speaks for itself and I think talking to some of the players as well, I think the reason why his pink ball record is so good is I think the pink ball actually performs very similar to the white ball," he added.

"And we know what sort of record that Mitchell Starc has got with a white-ball. That might be a part of the reason why," he remarked.

"He's not slowing down. That's just not pace that he's bowling. That's the way that he's bowling. So looking at him, (Josh) Hazelwood and Cummins, they could be around for another couple of years together yet," he said.

With the series tied at 1-1, the focus now shifts to the Gabba for the third Test, as both teams compete for a spot in the World Test Championship Final. (ANI)