Australia ended the day with 400/5 from 90 overs, and Ponting was unbeaten on 176, his 19th test hundred and his fifth for the year 2003, a remarkable year for him in which he had hitherto scored 1149 runs at an average of 95.75, and had set his sights for a double century. His innings was exceptional. For his first 100 runs, he picked boundaries in the gaps on the off-side, in spite of the fact that that region was packed with fielders. He raced on to his 100 from just 117 balls, but slowed down considerably, once he reached his 150. He commented about his innings, admitting that he was satisfied with the way he played on that day. He said, "It was a good wicket, and a good outfield, and you got real value for your strokes." He commented of the Indian bowlers that, "They missed Zaheer...He's been their best bowler the past couple of years, and he bowled well up in Brisbane. They didn't bowl as well as they'd have liked today, but you can't judge them based on that." Ponting's crisp strokeplay combined with aggression to produce a fantastic knock. However, he was aided by the fact that Ganguly got rid of the 8–1 and 7–2 fields thereby depriving his bowlers the chance of getting lbws or any catches.