For visiting India, who are without their regular skipper Rohit Sharma for the opener, a series defeat will end their bid to qualify for a third successive WTC final
With the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final spot on the line, the two top-ranked teams Australia and India face off in the five-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25 starting with a Perth showdown from Friday (November 22, 2024). India's tour of Australia will be telecast live. Check live streaming and other details HERE. (More Cricket News)
Ahead of the Perth Test, Ricky Ponting responded to Ravi Shastri's prediction -- a 3-1 for either side -- saying Australia would be too strong for India. The former Aussie captain had earlier also predicted a 3-1 scoreline in favour of the hosts.
Nobody can't be perfect in making predictions. Ponting knows it too well. In 2020, he had predicted a 2-1 win for his former team following India's 36 all out in the first innings of the Adelaide Test, a match they eventually lost. But India fought back to win the series 2-1 even in the absence of several senior members of the team. And Ponting had to eat his words.
Recollecting what he had discussed with former India captain Sunil Gavaskar, Ponting told ICC, "I think I might have said 2-1 at the start... And then Sunny looked at me and said, 'It will be 2-1, but it will be 2-1 (in favour of) India'."
"And I thought there was no way in the world that they could bounce back after losing the way they did in Adelaide. But they did... 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," the 49-year-old Tasmanian added.
For visiting India, who are without their regular skipper Rohit Sharma for the opener, a series defeat will end their bid to qualify for a third successive WTC final.
Following the debacle against New Zealand at home, India need to win at least four matches to keep things in their own hands.
Australia, the defending champions, are in a relatively safer position as they still have one series coming up, away in Sri Lanka (two matches).
Then there's also big BGT to fight for. Australia are chasing their first bilateral Test series win since 2017. And India, with a strong start, can win a third successive Test series Down Under or even retain the BGT with a draw.