Bengaluru, Oct 6: Ricky Ponting - the picture is symbolic. It captures two moods - one, of a champion left despondent after the Mohali thriller and the other, of a fortune-teller whose ominous prediction about his team’s Nemesis came true on Tuesday.

The fact that instincts are intrinsic to sport can be proved by the fact that Ponting asked his teammates to be wary of VVS Laxman as Australia were planning to go for the kill on Day 5.

On the occasion of the ICC Annual Awards, where Ponting was picked to lead the World ODI Team of the Year, the Australian captain spoke to BCCI.TV about Laxman’s fantastic knock under pressure and India’s deserving win at Mohali.

Excerpts

On losing the thrilling Mohali Test

Yeah, it was an amazing game of Test cricket, there is no doubt about that. It just showed why we love Test cricket so much. To play for five days like we did, we just were not good enough to cross the line at Mohali. I have been lucky enough to play around 150 games and it was one of the best I have been involved in.

It is certainly up among the best games I have played in. I will remember the game even though we lost it. I think every player who played in it will remember it for a long time.

On whether he predicted that VVS Laxman could take the match away from Australia

I probably did have that sixth sense, unfortunately. Going into the night, I had that feeling that Laxman would be nice and fresh as he didn’t really take part in much of the game. Somebody said that those kind of issues – back spasms – only last for two or three days. It might actually [have gotten] better come Day 5. He is someone who has got a very good record against the Australians. We got everybody early - we got Sachin [Tendulkar] early, we got [MS] Dhoni early. Unfortunately, we didn’t get Laxman when we needed to. He played very well and they [the Indians] deserved to win the game.

On what happened in the dressing room after the narrow loss at Mohali

Yeah, it was very quiet last night as you would imagine. The guys were shattered that we couldn’t win the game. The result didn’t go our way. We tried not to talk much about it. We went to the hotel and we all had a meal together. Whenever we get together we discuss cricket in some form, shape or the other. I decided to let go of the guys and re-group the next day and get into my team meeting and talk about the loss and decide to focus on the next match.

On being named the captain of the ICC ODI Team of the Year

Yeah, I have been lucky enough to be here and try and answer that question. A side like that – it will be enjoyable no doubt about that. You wouldn’t know who to throw the ball at and who to bat at which position. It is probably the most challenging part of trying to captain a side like that. Look, I am very proud to be here and captain a side like that. To be honest, it is something which was unexpected. I didn’t expect that any awards would come my way. It is something I am really proud of.

On the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011

We have been playing some very good one-day cricket over the last 12 months. Our group is on the right track of playing some good cricket in the World Cup 2011.

On the contest between India, Australia, South Africa and England in the Test arena

We are lucky at the moment that we have got South Africa, India and England. We have got a great rivalry going against all of them. It seems like every Test we play or series we play is the [of the] same [intensity] against these opponents. The last Test we played was one of the all-time greats.

On whether captaincy takes a toll on personal performance or enhances it

It is difficult, I guess. I have always tried to differentiate between my captaincy and my batting and focus on areas where I have to focus and that has worked pretty well for me over the years. Our team has changed over the last couple of years. I have to work harder outside my side to make sure that everyone else’s game is in good shape. It is something I am really enjoying. I am enjoying the young guys being in the team. And that has been really fun over the last few years.

On whether he was surprised at being named captain of the ICC ODI Team of the Year

Obviously, not now since I haven’t done that bad in the last year. I had a reasonable year in one-day cricket. I guess looking back at the last year I can say that it was one of the more consistent seasons. I actually saw something on television last night – the world one-day batting rankings at the moment and it said that I have scored over 1,000 runs or so in the year. I think it is a good recognition to be named in a team like this.

On the mental aspect of the game

To be honest, the whole game of cricket is played from above the shoulders. The hardest thing we have now in international cricket is playing throughout the year and [to be] mentally and physically fit and up there. To keep your body and mind in pretty good shape is tough. For someone who is 35-years-old, things are certainly not getting easier.