'Yes it does': Ricky Ponting speaks out on 'Spring Bat' of 2003 World Cup final in front of Ganguly

The Delhi Capitals will take on the Mumbai Indians in an exciting T20 clash at Arun Jaitley Stadium tomorrow at 3:30 pm. The Capitals, led by Rishabh Pant, boast a strong squad including power hitters David Warner and Prithvi Shaw. On the other hand, the Mumbai Indians, captained by Hardik Pandya, feature seasoned players like Rohit Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah. With both teams eyeing a spot into the play-offs, the battle promises to be intense and full of thrilling cricket action.

Ricky Ponting reveals his bat collection tradition after each century he recorded 

In addition to collecting hundreds of bats during his playing career, former Australia captain and two-time World Cup winner Ricky Ponting has disclosed that he carefully preserved each bat he used to achieve an international century, noting both the opponent's name and the precise score.

One of the most intimidating big-hitters of his day, 49-year-old Ponting was speaking at DP World's Beyond Boundaries project, which distributes uniforms to young players in Delhi. Ponting is presently the head coach of the Delhi Capitals.

Over the course of his brilliant playing career, which came to an end in 2012, Ponting amassed 71 international hundreds, an incredible 41 of them in Tests.

"Believe it or not, I have still got my first bat at my home. It still has all the stickers and everything on it. We literally have had probably a thousand of bats by now, some are more special than others.

"I kept every bat I scored an international hundred with and I write on it, the score and who it was against of," the usually reticent Ponting revealed.

One of his most memorable knocks was the World Cup-winning unbeaten 140 against India in the 2003 edition's final.

He pulverised the Indian bowling attack led by Zaheer Khan to almost single-handedly clinch the trophy for Australia.

Does that bat feature in his collection too? "Yes it does," pat came Ponting's reply even as the then India captain Sourav Ganguly, who is currently the Delhi Capitals Director and was sharing the dias with the Australian here, looked on with a smile on his face.

But this memorabilia is hidden away at his home and is not meant to be showed to anyone.

"It's not like it's displayed in my house. I keep those in my garage," he added.

Ganguly also spoke at the event and recalled the time he got his first bat.

"I remember I had my first bat when I was 13 and how happy I was because the ball would just fly off the bat," the former BCCI President said.

David Warner, who is playing for DC this season, said his first bat was a birthday present.

"My uncle got me my first bat for my birthday, and it never left my side and used to be next to my bed," he said.

(With PTI inputs)