Former cricket stars Ravi Shastri and Ricky Ponting have praised the report-breaking attendance on the latest 5-match Test sequence between India and Australia. They steered this rivalry would possibly now surpass the Ashes in significance.
Australia triumphed 3–1, ending India’s decade-lengthy dominance of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. The sequence attracted a outstanding 837,000 spectators throughout the 5 Tests.
Former India coach Shastri described the rivalry between the 2 groups as “unreal” in the trendy period.
“One stat stands out: 375,000 people coming through the gates in that Melbourne Test match, beating the record set 90 years ago of 350,000,” Shastri mentioned on ‘The ICC Review’.
“(In) 1936/1937, when the ‘G’ could hold 120,000 people and when Bradman was playing.
“It simply goes to indicate the sudden curiosity in the trendy period. The bar has been raised. The bar has been raised large time.”
“For folks to get on the market and watch cricket when there’s tv, when there’s OTT platforms, the place all that’s there, nonetheless for 375,000 folks to come back (to Melbourne) after which replicate that in Sydney with full homes, it is unreal, ” Shastri added.
Shastri, who coached India during their consecutive Test series wins in Australia in 2017-18 and 2020-21, also praised Australian captain Pat Cummins.
“He (Cummins) amazes me,” said the former India all-rounder.
“Even after I was the coach in 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 just when the chips were down, various times in the series, he rose to the occasion. And not just with the ball, but with the bat as well.”
Ponting echoed Shastri’s sentiments, emphasizing the unprecedented attendance numbers in Australia.
“So now that this series has happened, Australia have England coming out next summer so we’ll get a better idea then. If the numbers aren’t the same, then there’ll be no doubt that the (Border-Gavaskar) rivalry (is bigger), certainly from the fans’ point of view.
“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 said.
Ponting noted that the attendance figures could have been even higher if not for weather interruptions and early finishes.
“Perth solely went 4 days, Adelaide solely went three days, Sydney solely went three days. Those numbers would have been astronomical if these Test matches all went 5 days. So precisely this time subsequent yr, we’ll have an incredible thought of the most important rivalry in world cricket.
“The fans, understanding how good these two cricket teams are, want to be there and want to be part of it and want to see Test match cricket at its absolute best,” Ponting mentioned.
“Right now, it’s really hard to argue that this isn’t the biggest rivalry in world cricket. It’s grown.
“Year on yr and Ravi (Shastri) and I, we have been part of most of those the final 15, 20 years. We’ve felt the way it’s been rising and rising and the rivalry will get greater and now the followers are into it as effectively.”
Ponting also praised Australia’s ability to bounce back after a loss.
“When you lose a Test match (in Perth) like that in opposition to one other very sturdy opposition aspect, you do must do a little bit of soul looking out and do a whole lot of speaking,” he said.
“It’s been a extremely good turnaround, particularly when in the beginning of the sequence, I assumed Australia would win 3-1, however I truly thought they’d win the early Test matches.
“I thought they’d win Perth, I thought they’d win Brisbane and probably Adelaide and find it harder in Melbourne and Sydney.
“The circumstances that you simply assume India would usually play higher in, Australia’s discovered a approach to outplay them in Melbourne and Sydney.
“It was a really good turnaround and one that they’ll be happy with.”
