Former Australian captain Ricky Ponting is regarded as one of the best batsmen to have played a game as the right-handed batsman had destroyed many potent line-ups in his illustrious career. Recently, however, the star batsman revealed the fastest spell he faced in his 17-year old career and it was bowled by none other than Shoaib Akhtar during the 1999 Test in Perth. When the Pakistani speedster came Ponting’s tweet, he also lauded the Aussie star and called him the ‘bravest’ batsman. Taking to his official Twitter account, the 44-year old said that only Ponting could have tackled the pacer with such brilliance. Ricky Ponting Picks Andrew Flintoff’s Over From 2005 Ashes Test Series As Best He Faced.

Along with praising Ponting, the Rawalpindi express also trolled former Australian opener Justin Langer by saying that the right-handed batsman would have wanted to stay at the non-striker’s end. “Only @RickyPonting could have played it like this. He was the bravest. @JustinLanger8 definitely wanted to stay at non-striker end. Lol,” wrote the talismanic Pakistani cricketer while replying to Ponting’s tweet. Have a look.

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Well, Ponting might have claimed that Akhtar troubled him in that game. However, the scorecard of the match narrates a completely different story. The right-handed batsman went on to score 197 runs in the match while Akhtar didn’t enjoy a great outing as he was able to scalp only one wicket. Even Justin Langer, whom Akhtar trolled, also played a crucial knock of 144 runs. As a result, the Steve Waugh-led Australia won the game by an innings and 20 runs.

Earlier, Ponting also revealed the best spell he faced in his career which was bowled by former England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff during a 2005 Test in Edgbaston.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 16, 2020 03:47 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).