Ponting Prediction on BGT: Former captain Ricky Ponting believes that Australia will do well in the upcoming Border Gavaskar Trophy against India and has predicted a 3-1 series win. Cricket legends from around the world have made many such predictions while preparing for the BGT.
According to former India head coach Ravi Shastri, the series can end 3-1 in favour of any team but he quickly reminded that the visiting team can come out ahead if it manages to get a good start.
Ponting Predicts 3-1 Australia Win in Border-Gavaskar Trophy
The last time Ponting tried to predict the result of the BGT 2020/21 edition, his prediction failed. This time, he hopes it doesn’t happen again. “Sunny did better than me. So, I hope Ravi doesn’t do better than me this time. So I will stick with 3-1 Australia,” Ponting said in an ICC review ahead of the opening Test on Friday.
Ponting detailed the reasoning behind his decision. He expects India to put behind their past disappointments, which mainly revolve around the 3-0 loss in the home Test series against New Zealand.
After selected captain Rohit Sharma sat out the first match of the series, star pacer Jasprit Bumrah was named as his successor. Ponting expects India to field a stable team in Perth and fill in the gaps in the past that have led to the team’s defeat.
Also read: Beth Mooney Makes History in Women’s Big Bash League
Ricky Ponting Confident in Australia’s Victory Over India
Ponting said, “India will be quite confident about which team they are going to play (in Perth). They have known for quite some time that Rohit probably won’t be here.” He said, “They have probably known for quite some time that Bumrah is going to be the captain. So they probably know what gaps they have to fill. So they will be quite stable.”
The 49-year-old Ponting showed his faith in the Australian team to shine in all areas, but he focused on Steven Smith and Marnus Labuschagne to recover from their poor form and return to their brilliant form. Smith’s form has been a matter of concern for the hosts for a long time.
After scoring a century against England at the iconic Lord’s in July 2023, the veteran batsman has scored in 10 matches at an average of just 33.64.
On the other hand, Labuschagne has been in poor form since July 23 and his form has been average. He has scored just 653 runs in 12 matches, averaging 29.68, including a single century and five fifties in 24 innings. He said, “Labuschagne and Smith need to score runs for Australia. And their bowling attack is as good as any other bowler in the world. So I will stick to my 3-1 Australia prediction.”
