Last Updated:
Ricky Ponting has backed the Baggy Greens to end India’s dominance and win the upcoming edition of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy with a scoreline of 3-1.
Ricky Ponting backs Australia to win Test series against India. (Picture Credit: Sportzpics, AFP)
Former Australian captain Ricky Ponting has made his predictions for the upcoming five-match Test series between India and Australia. The 2024-25 edition of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy is set to start on November 22 in Perth, and the next four matches are scheduled to take place in Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, and Sydney, respectively.
Ahead of India’s arrival to Australia, Ponting, who is Australia’s leading run scorer in Tests and ODIs, has predicted a 3-1 series win for the hosts. According to him, while India can win one Test match in Australia, the Baggy Greens will end India’s dominance and finally win the Border-Gavaskar Trophy after 10 years.
“I think India will win a Test match somewhere through the five Test matches,” Ponting said on the latest episode of The ICC Review.
“But I still think now, Australia probably look a bit more settled, a bit more experienced, and we know that they’re a very hard team to beat at home. So, I’ll stick with the 3-1,” he added.
Ponting predicted a 3-1 series win for the 2023 World Test Championship (WTC) winners in August, and he has backed his earlier prediction once again.
Australia defeated India 2-0 in the 2014-15 edition of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, but in the last two home series against India, the Baggy Greens suffered a 1-2 defeat in front of home fans.
Australia sits at the No. 1 position in the ICC Test rankings as well as the WTC 2023-25 points table. They have won four of the five red-ball matches played in front of home fans in the ongoing WTC cycle.
India, on the other hand, is coming into the series against Australia after suffering shocking defeats in the last three Tests against New Zealand. The first-ever whitewash at home in a series that featured three or more Tests had put India’s chances of qualifying for the WTC 2025 final in serious doubt.
India will be guaranteed to finish in the top-two and book a place in the WTC 2025 final at Lord’s next year if the Rohit Sharma-led side beat Australia with a scoreline of 4-0 or 5-0.
