It Simply Goes To Present…: Ravi Shastri, Ricky Pontings Trustworthy Take On Crowd Attendance In 2024-25 Border–Gavaskar Trophy
Former stars Ravi Shastri and Ricky Ponting have hailed the record-breaking attendance through the five-match Take a look at sequence Down Below, suggesting the face-off between India and Australia may surpass the Ashes as cricket’s largest rivalry.
India’s decade-long dominance within the Border-Gavaskar Trophy ended on Sunday as Australia reclaimed the title with a 3-1 sequence win, with the rubber drawing an unprecedented attendance of 837,000 throughout 5 Assessments.
Former India coach Shastri stated there may be little doubt the rivalry between the 2 groups is “unreal” within the fashionable period.
“One stat stands out: 375,000 individuals coming by the gates in that Melbourne Take a look at match, beating the report set 90 years in the past of 350,000,” Shastri stated on ‘The ICC Evaluate’.
“(In) 1936/1937, when the ‘G’ may maintain 120,000 individuals and when Bradman was taking part in.
“It simply goes to point out the sudden curiosity within the fashionable period. The bar has been raised. The bar has been raised massive time.”
“For individuals to get on the market and watch cricket when there may be tv, when there may be OTT platforms, the place all that’s there, nonetheless for 375,000 individuals to return (to Melbourne) after which replicate that in Sydney with full homes, it is unreal,” Shastri added.
Shastri, who was accountable for the workforce when India received back-to-back Take a look at sequence in Australia in 2017-18 and 2020-21, additionally hailed the house workforce’s captain Pat Cummins.
“He (Cummins) amazes me,” stated the previous India all-rounder.
“Even after I was the coach within the dressing room, I’d simply admire his willpower, his willingness to compete. He by no means provides up and it is like that session after session – he’ll come at you with the ball.
“And simply when the chips have been down, numerous occasions within the sequence, he rose to the event. And never simply with the ball, however with the bat as effectively.”
Backing Shastri’s view, Ponting stated the numbers of 837,000 individuals coming to observe the Assessments was exceptional in Australia.
“So now that this sequence has occurred, Australia have England popping out subsequent summer season so we’ll get a greater concept then. If the numbers aren’t the identical, then there will be little question that the (Border-Gavaskar) rivalry (is greater), actually from the followers’ standpoint.
“There’s two separate elements to this: There’s what the followers wish to see and the rivalry that they wish to make of it, nevertheless it’s additionally how the gamers view the rivalry between the three groups now,” Ponting stated.
The attendance figures may have been a lot larger had there been no early finishes or rain interruptions in Brisbane.
“Perth solely went 4 days, Adelaide solely went three days, Sydney solely went three days. These numbers would have been astronomical if these Take a look at matches all went 5 days. So precisely this time subsequent 12 months, we’ll have an important concept of the largest rivalry in world cricket.
“The followers, understanding how good these two cricket groups are, wish to be there and wish to be a part of it and wish to see Take a look at match cricket at its very best,” Ponting stated.
“Proper now, it is actually onerous to argue that this is not the largest rivalry in world cricket. It is grown.
“12 months on 12 months and Ravi (Shastri) and I, we have been part of most of those the final 15, 20 years. We have felt the way it’s been rising and rising and the rivalry will get larger and now the followers are into it as effectively.”
Ponting additionally praised Australia’s capability to show issues round on the backend.
“Whenever you lose a Take a look at match (in Perth) like that towards one other very robust opposition aspect, you do should do a little bit of soul looking and do quite a lot of speaking,” he stated.
“It has been a very good turnaround, particularly when firstly of the sequence, I believed Australia would win 3-1, however I really thought they’d win the early Take a look at matches.
“I believed they’d win Perth, I believed they’d win Brisbane and doubtless Adelaide and discover it tougher in Melbourne and Sydney.
“The circumstances that you simply assume India would usually play higher in, Australia’s discovered a solution to outplay them in Melbourne and Sydney.
“It was a very good turnaround and one that they will be proud of.”
