Ahead of the much-anticipated Border-Gavaskar Trophy between India and Australia, former Australian captain Ricky Ponting has made his prediction. Speaking on The ICC Review, Ponting predicted a 3-1 victory for Australia in the upcoming five-match series. While he respects the strength of the Indian team, he believes his former side is ready for the challenge and will be too strong.
Ponting sticks to his guns
He also addressed Ravi Shastri’s prediction earlier, which was similar in terms of a 3-1 result, but with a potential advantage to India if they got off to a strong start. Despite the similar predictions, Ponting was clear that he wouldn’t be swayed by Shastri’s view.
Ponting shared an interesting story from the 2020/21 series between India and Australia when India made an unexpected comeback after losing the first Test in Adelaide. India had been bowled out for just 36 in that match, their lowest-ever Test total. Ponting had predicted a 2-1 win for Australia, but after discussing the series with Sunil Gavaskar, Gavaskar famously predicted India would win the series 2-1. Despite Ponting’s disbelief, India managed to do the impossible and won the series 2-1.
Ponting admitted, “Sunny got the better of me there. So I hope Ravi doesn’t get the better of me this time. So I’m going to stick with the 3-1 Australia.”
Australia’s strong squad
Ponting believes that Australia is well-prepared and settled ahead of the series. Despite their recent loss to New Zealand at home, he is confident that they have a strong line-up. He also stated that India would be quite settled in their squad, despite Rohit Sharma’s absence from the first Test, and the leadership of Jasprit Bumrah.
However, Ponting sees potential disruptions for India when Sharma returns for the next Tests. He believes that Australia’s strong batting line-up, including Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith, combined with their world-class bowling attack, gives them the edge.
“India will be pretty certain of what team they’re going to play (in Perth). They’ve known for a while that Rohit probably wasn’t going to be here,” Ponting said.
Mental preparation for the series
As the first Test in Perth approaches, Ponting emphasised the importance of mental preparation. While physical readiness is crucial, he believes that staying mentally fresh is key to performing well. He cited the example of Travis Head, who, despite minimal preparation, went on to play memorable innings. Ponting stressed that clarity of thought would be more important than skills, which every player carries with them. “I think it’s not so much the skills side of it. It’s making sure that you’re nice and fresh mentally and physically,” Ponting added.
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