Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting has responded to ex-India coach Ravi Shastri’s bold prediction for the much-awaited Border-Gavaskar Trophy. The 49-year-old Ponting believes that the home side will be too strong for the visitors during the upcoming Test series.
During an episode of The ICC Review, Shastri said that the result would be 3-1 to either side but he believes India could get ahead if they made a fast start.
When Ponting was asked about Shastri’s prediction for the BGT 2023-24, the 49-year-old recalled a lighter moment involving Sunil Gavaskar from the 2020/21 edition of the Trophy, before sticking to his guns.
The Aussie great recalled how his 2-1 prediction in favour of Australia backfired after he discussed it with Gavaskar in the aftermath of India’s routing in the first Test in Adelaide in 2020, in which India were bowled out for 36, their lowest-ever Test total.
“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,” Ponting said in the latest episode of The ICC Review.
Notably, India produced a memorable fightback during the last BGT in Australia after a disastrous performance in the series opener in Adelaide. Despite missing several first-choice players, the visitors secured wins in Melbourne and Brisbane along with a gritty draw in Sydney, to take the series 2-1.
This ensured that India won back-to-back series Down Under and continued their undefeated run in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy since 2017.
However, Ponting, the highest-ever run-getter for Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, was hopeful that Shastri’s call wouldn’t get the better of him this time around.
“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,” he said.
