International cricket’s most successful captain Ricky Ponting celebrates his 45th birthday on Thursday. Born on December 19, 1974, the former Aussie cricketer will certainly go down as one of the best skippers and batsman in the cricket’s history. Ponting was the leader of the Australian team which ruled World cricket in the first decade of 2000. Along with his captaincy skills, the talismanic player was also a brilliant batsman and has played several match-defining knocks in his illustrious career. In fact, the right-handed batsman is the third-highest run-scorer in international cricket after Kumar Sangakkara and Sachin Tendulkar. Ricky Ponting Feels Australia's Bowling Attack Better than India.

The legendary batsman made his international debut back in February 1995 and a fantastic career went underway. He displayed his batting abilities early in his career by playing some terrific knocks. However, his best came out only when he got the reins of the side. After that, there was no stopping Ponting as he played one breathtaking knock after another. Be it Tests or ODIs, the skipper tormented the bowlers in all the formats and also left his mark in his brief T20I career. Talking about Ponting’s ability with the willow, let’s look at five of his best knocks in international cricket. Ricky Ponting Praises Babar Azam, Says ‘Pakistan Batsman’s Best Is Yet to Come.’

140 Against India in Johannesburg

An Indian fan will certainly not want to remember this mayhem by Ponting which occurred in the 2003 World Cup final. Batting first in the high-voltage encounter, the skipper came out to bat at number three and since then, it was a one-man show. The likes of Zaheer Khan and Javagal Srinath looked completely ineffective against the batsman as he went on to play a scintillating knock, guiding his team to 359 runs in first innings. In reply, India were bundled out for 234 runs and the Aussies lifted their third World Cup.

98* Against New Zealand in Auckland

The first men’s T20I was played between New Zealand and Australia, back in 2005 and cricket fans all over the world were eager to see how the cricketers will adopt the new format. However, Ponting didn’t take long in settling his feet in the new version and played a tremendous knock. The batsman attacked bowlers from the outset and scored an unbeaten 98. He missed his century by two runs by powered Aussie to 214 runs in the first innings and a 44-run triumph.

196 Against England in Brisbane

In the first Test of Ashes 2006-07, the Aussie skipper looked at his prime and played a brilliant knock against the arch-rivals. The likes of Andre Flintoff, James Anderson and Matthew Hoggard wasn’t able to pierce the defences the Ponting as he went one to score a sensational ton and sealed the match for Aussies in the first innings. He might have missed it his double ton but his effort guided 602 runs in the first innings and subsequently a 277-run win.

257 Against India in Melbourne

Another Ponting special against India came in the third Test of the 2003 tour. The visitors posted a total of 336 runs in the first innings which seemed to be competitive. However, the Tasmania player dominated the Indian bowlers and went on to play a marathon knock. He scored 257 runs and helped Australia post 558 runs in the first innings. India failed to make any sort of comeback and lost the match by nine wickets.

164 Against South Africa in Johannesburg

This effort of Ponting will certainly go down as one of the best efforts in a losing cause. In the fifth ODI of Australia’s 2006 Tour of South Africa, the star batsman came into bat in the 15th over of the match and smashed the Proteas bowlers to all the parts of the ground. He also registered his highest ODI score as the Men in Yellow scored 434 in the first innings. However, Herschelle Gibbs played a blinder and guided South Africa to a historic win by one wicket.

Ponting bid adieu to international cricket on November 2012 and gave a sigh of relief to many bowlers around the world. Post-retirement, the legend served as a coach for many prominent teams along with a brief stint with Australia’s national team. He has also donned the commentator’s hat on many occasions and has given his voice in many matches.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 19, 2019 08:35 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).