IND vs AUS: Analysis by former Ricky Ponting Border-Gavaskar Trophy is based on the rivalry between India and Australia: The Australian player shared his thoughts about the five-match Test series Border Gavaskar scheduled to take place in late 2024.
ICC Hall of Famer Ricky Ponting has already decided who will win the crucial Test series between Australia and India starting later this year and discussed the burning questions that both sides will have to answer in the coming months.
Australia and India will face off in a five-match series starting in November and the series is crucial for both teams ahead of next year’s ICC World Test Championship final.
The team that wins the Border-Gavaskar Trophy could be in a good position to make it to the one-off final to be held at Lord’s – India are currently first and Australia second – and Ponting made his predictions for the series while speaking with host Sanjana Ganesan in the latest episode of ICC Review.
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Border Gavaskar Trophy: High-stakes series IND vs AUS
Ponting, an iconic figure in international cricket, expects the series to be a close contest. With India having won the last two Test series held in Australia, including a memorable 2-1 win in 2021, the upcoming series will be a big challenge for the hosts.
Despite India’s recent dominance, Ponting believes Australia could have the upper hand this time. He believes the Aussies will be highly motivated to regain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and show their tenacity on home soil.
“It’s going to be a competitive series and as I said I think Australia’s got a bit of a point to prove against India in Australia on the back of what’s happened the last two series here,” Ponting noted.
“We are back to five Tests as well, which is the other really important thing about this series. It’s only been four Tests the last couple of times. Five tests, I think everyone’s really excited by that and I don’t know if there’d be too many drawn games.
“I’m obviously going to tip Australia to win and I’m never going to tip against Australia. There will be a draw somewhere and there will be some bad weather somewhere, so I’m going to say 3-1 to Australia.”
Border Gavaskar Trophy: The Steve Smith conundrum
An interesting aspect of this series is the role of Steve Smith. After David Warner retired, Smith opened and gave up his preferred number 4 position to Cameron Green. Ponting expressed some uncertainty over whether Smith was the best choice for the opener’s role.
“I think Australia will pretty much pick itself,” Ponting suggested.
“Probably the only one question there might be with Australia again, is if (Steve) Smith’s the right man to be opening the batting. That would be the only query that I can see there. But that was all about obviously bringing Cameron Green back into the side.
“So I’ll rephrase it, not whether Smith’s the right man to open the batting but whether he thinks it’s the right spot for him. Because I think if he doesn’t think it’s the right spot then they’ll make a change and get someone else back up there.”
Border Gavaskar Trophy: India’s potential game-changers
The Indian team has several excellent fast bowlers, with Ponting having long admired pacer Jasprit Bumrah and pacer Mohammed Siraj.
The Australian legend is also impressed with left-arm bowler Khaleel Ahmed, who took 17 wickets during the most recent edition of the Indian Premier League for Delhi Capitals under Ponting’s guidance.
Although Khaleel is yet to make his Test debut, Ponting feels the 26-year-old can be a valuable addition to the touring team as he is different from the rest of India’s pace attack.
“Someone like Khaleel Ahmed I think could find himself on the Test tour,” Ponting said.
“I know he’s just been over in Zimbabwe recently and played that (T20I) series over there, but a left-armer would be ideal for them to have in their touring squad.
“(Mohammed) Shami will be back fit by then, (Mohammed) Siraj we know will be there abouts somewhere and obviously Bumrah is going nowhere. So both teams are going to line up really, really strongly.”
Border Gavaskar Trophy: Growing rivalry between India and Australia
The rivalry between Australia and India has changed significantly, now standing shoulder to shoulder with Australia’s traditional Ashes rivalry. Ponting acknowledges this change and says that India’s growing competitiveness has made this rivalry one of the most intense in international cricket.
“I think I was a part of it when that really started to grow, when the rivalry really started to grow, was it’s right at the back end of my career,” Ponting noted.
“And that’s when I think India seemingly really started to stand up to the fight and say, OK you’re playing against India now, this is a different Indian team, we’ve got different leaders and different players and we’re going to do it whatever we can to beat you guys – whether it’s in India or in Australia.
“I’ve said for the last couple of years now, Australia have always had a fierce rivalry with England, obviously, and a very strong rivalry with South Africa. But I think India is now sitting right on the back of what an Ashes clash is like and probably overtaken the rivalry with South Africa. So I mean, that’s probably enough said. The fact that someone like me is looking at it in that way. I’m sure the players look at it in the same way as well and I’m really excited for the summer.
“There’ll be a lot of Indian broadcasters out there. There’ll be a lot of Indian fans out here. India will bring a really strong team here. And we know Australia are World Test Champions at the moment so it should be a mouth-watering summer again.”
Source: ICC
