'Spring Kidhar Hai?': Ask India Fans As Ricky Ponting Shares Picture Of Bat He Scored Ton With In 2003 WC Final

‘Ricky Ponting’s bat has a spring’ – This is probably the biggest rumour an Indian cricket fan would have heard in 2003. When former Australia skipper took India to the cleaners in the final of the 2003 World Cup, the Indian kids as well as some elders could not believe the mayhem and helped them cover up the wounds.

Today is the 17th anniversary of that World Cup final in South Africa. On this day in 2003, Ricky Ponting foiled Sourav Ganguly-led India’s chances of lifting their second Cricket World Cup trophy. India had defied all the odds, beating the likes of England, New Zealand, Pakistan and others to storm into the final.

But on the final day, they just could not deliver another inspiring performance. Ricky Ponting, on the other hand, led his troop from the very front. After Adam Gilchrist and Matthew Hayden gave Australia flying start, Ricky Ponting blew India away with a whirlwind century.

He and Damien Martin stitched a monstrous 242 run-stand, 8 more than what India scored while chasing an improbable total of 360. The legendary Australian scored 140 from just 121 deliveries as he led the foundation for Australia’s third World Cup win.

And on Monday, he celebrated that famous win by sharing the photo of the infamous bat, the same willow that broke the heart of millions of Indians. As soon as he shared the picture of the bat on Twitter, the Indian fans went down the memory lane and recalled that famous rumour once again which stated that Ricky Ponting’s bat had spring in it which helped him time four boundaries and eight maximums with ease.

“Given we’ve all got a bit of time on our hands as we stay at home, thought I’d go through what I’ve kept from my career and share some of it with everyone on a regular basis – this is the bat I used in the 2003 World Cup final,” Ricky Ponting captioned his tweet.

Given we've all got a bit of time on our hands as we stay at home, thought I'd go through what I've kept from my career and share some of it with everyone on a regular basis – this is the bat I used in the 2003 World Cup final. pic.twitter.com/meoBP6NJvg

— Ricky Ponting AO (@RickyPonting) March 23, 2020

Here are some of the reactions to his tweet:

Spring kidhar hai ? pic.twitter.com/pIDgJctKEA

— Right Arm Over (@RightArmOver_) March 23, 2020

After removing the grip…….. pic.twitter.com/Juw3GivCAz

— Krishna (@Atheist_Krishna) March 23, 2020

https://twitter.com/Im_Ram3/status/1241984031224446977

pic.twitter.com/RNVqgD4s5u

— पुणेरी स्पिक्स™ Puneri Speaks (@PuneriSpeaks) March 23, 2020

https://twitter.com/AshirwadKarande/status/1241980822208430081

THE BAT WITH THE SPRING! #fact #truestory

— North Stand Gang – Wankhede (@NorthStandGang) March 23, 2020

https://twitter.com/Sirchahal/status/1241988727104139264

Cut it open we indians think it has springs in it ??????

— Ashavaadi (@AshaVaadi) March 23, 2020