Ponting attributes Starc’s fiery spell to Jaiswal exchange

Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting believes a cheeky remark from India opener Yashasvi Jaiswal may have ignited a career-best performance from Mitchell Starc during the second Test in Adelaide.

Jaiswal contributed a stellar knock of 161 in the second innings of the series opener in Perth, but may have drawn the ire of Australia’s premier fast bowler at the time when he remarked that Starc was "bowling too slow" during his innings.

Starc reveals plan behind Jaiswal’s first-ball dismissal in Adelaide

The comment brought a wry smile to the face of Starc at the time, but it was the left-arm quick that had the last laugh when he dismissed the India opener for a duck with a peach on the very first delivery of the match in Adelaide.

Ponting discussed Starc’s form with host Sanjana Ganesan on the most recent episode of The ICC Review and the Australian great suggested the veteran quick may have received some extra motivation from Jaiswal’s cheeky comment.

“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.

“And if one of the batters does happen to say something, he generally responds with a little smile on his face.

“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.”

Ponting also commended the rest of Australia's line-up, including Pat Cummins and Travis Head, for their key contributions in the team's 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.

“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.

“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.

“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.”

WATCH: Starc in action during the 2023 WTC Final

At 34 years of age, Starc stands as one of the most decorated pacers in modern cricket.

With an impressive 692 wickets across all formats, he has won nearly every major title with Australia, including two ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup trophies (2015 and 2023), the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in 2021 and the ICC World Test Championship in 2023.

Despite a successful career, Starc is sometimes not as prominently mentioned among the greatest bowlers of recent times.

Ponting, however, was full of praise for Starc, emphasising how he has adapted his bowling style to ensure longevity across all formats of the game.

“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.

“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.

“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.

“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'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.”

With the series tied at 1-1, the action now moves to the Gabba for the third Test, as both teams vie for a spot in the World Test Championship Final.