Ricky Ponting with the Australian cricket team in India in 2008–09 media analyst Peter Roebuck wrote in "The Sydney Morning Herald" and "The Age", "In one of the most baffling displays of captaincy seen in the long and proud history of Australian cricket, Ricky Ponting has denied his side a deserved chance of securing a famous victory. Rather than pressing home an advantage secured by dint of outstanding swing bowling and inspired spin in a fraught and fascinating afternoon session, the Australian captain preferred to use part-timers. Presumably, it was an attempt to improve an ailing over rate. Perhaps he was worried about missing the next match. Both issues pale into
Ricky Ponting match saw Mark Taylor equal Don Bradman's Australian record score of 334, when he declared Australia's innings overnight on 4/599, despite being not out. Ponting was replaced by Lehmann for the final Test. In between the Tests and the ODIs, Australia were knocked out of the 1998 Wills International Cup, starting in late October, when they were defeated by India in their opening match. In a knockout based tournament, Tendulkar scored 141 in India's total of 307; meanwhile, Ponting managed a 53 ball 41, in a 44 run defeat. In a tournament hosted in Bangladesh, South Africa were eventual victors,