The IPL defending champions say their head coach's influence is shaping them the same way he moulded the great Australian side of the early 2000s
Under Ponting Mumbai looks a mini-Australia
Mumbai Indians coach Ricky Ponting is moulding his team into a mini-Australia according to wicketkeeper-batsman Parthiv Patel.
Mumbai are the reigning Indian Premier League champions, winning the lucrative competition in Ponting's first season as head coach.
But Ponting's career at the helm started out like a horror show.
After six matches, his charges had lost five times, including their first four, to be rooted to the bottom of the IPL table.
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Hope was not lost as Ponting kept his men calm and continued to support his players and back their natural instincts.
The belief was repaid when Mumbai went on a five-match winning streak before losing only once more to claim the franchise's second title.
It's why when Mumbai lost the 2016 season opener to newcomers Pune Super Giants there was no panic in the dressing room.
Ponting's champion Australian side of the 2000s won from anywhere, and that's the belief the he has instilled in his men.
"I think he's brilliant," Patel said on Friday. "He always backs any player. That's how he played his career.
"He gives us that space and tells us, 'If you think can take on someone try to go out there and do it'.
"That's how he played and that's what we are trying to rub on to other players as well.
"That positive energy is very good in the dressing room. Whether we win a game or a lose a game he makes sure the atmosphere stays balanced that's the reason why I think we could make a comeback last year and even last game (against Pune).
"I don't think losing the first game made an impact because we started fresh and that's how the Australian team played under him when Ricky was captain."
Ponting finished his 17-year international career as Australia's most successful captain, leading his country to two World Cup titles, a 5-0 Ashes whitewash and 48 Test wins from 77 matches in charge.
As a batsman he is perhaps Australia's second finest behind the incomparable Sir Donald Bradman.
The Tasmanian holds the record for most runs in Test and ODIs for Australia, as well as the most centuries scored in those formats.
Patel, who has played 20 Tests for India, witnessed Ponting in his prime as an 18-year-old on his first tour of Australia in 2003-04.
Image Id: ~/media/E96859BEBFA84A51B6E06A5451E41328 Image Caption: Parthiv watches on as Ponting lashes a boundary in the 2003 Boxing Day Test // Getty"I've seen a couple of double-centuries from him from behind the wickets," Patel said.
"I know how he plays and that's what he's tried to rub onto other players."
After their first-up defeat, Mumbai rebounded with an impressive six-wicket win over Kolkata Knight Riders at Eden Gardens on Thursday.
But they face their biggest test of the season on Saturday night when they host the undefeated Gujarat Lions.