WATCH: Ricky Ponting shuts down Kevin Pietersen for his 'Root owned the game' comments on Day 4 of 1st Test, Ashes 2023

Ricky Ponting shut down Kevin Pietersen after some over-the-top praise of English batter Joe Root during day four of the first Test.

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Rohit Kumar
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Ricky Ponting and Kevin Pietersen (Source - Twitter)

Ricky Ponting and Kevin Pietersen (Source - Twitter)

England was seeking to set a respectable total for the opponents to chase in the fourth innings as they began the fourth day of the opening Ashes 2023 match on 28/2. With an aggressive mindset from the off, Joe Root scored 46 runs off of 55 balls, while Harry Brook added 46 runs with the willow.

The two combined for a 52-run partnership for the fourth wicket and finished the innings with the most runs scored. However, Australian bowlers Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon impressed by taking four wickets each. The pair's bowling performance held England to 273 runs, which helped the visitors reach their target of 281 runs.

Meanwhile, former England cricketer Kevin Pietersen was involved in a war of words with his former Aussie rival Ricky Ponting during the lunch break on Day 4. Pieterson claimed that Root owned the game and Australian bowlers had no answer for that and were scratching their heads.

Watch the video here:

"Joe Root just owned the game. He ran the game, he was pure quality and he just owned that space. All of this lot (Australian players) were just scratching their heads going 'What do we do?'." Pietersen said.

However, Ponting didn’t hold back and savagely shut Pieterson with a 7-word reply. He remained calm and composed throughout the conversation and brought back his old days when he used to give back to the sledges on the field and said, "Well he's out now, he got 40." Ponting replied.

Brilliant setup for an exciting Day of Ashes 2023 1st Test

Meanwhile, coming to chase the target, David Warner and Usman Khawaja, the two Australian openers, came out and blunted the new ball while playing some of their most confident and upbeat cricket. Warner, however, ran out of options and was dismissed by Ollie Robinson.

And then started the Stuart Broad show, a demonstration of swing bowling in which each delivery felt like an occasion. He was able to bowl two excellent outswingers that caught the edge of Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne. Scott Boland, the night watchman, has since performed his duties, while Khawaja has similarly held down the fort at the other end as he did in the first innings.

Ricky Ponting Kevin Pietersen Ashes