Dubai, March 4 — Former Australian captain Ricky Ponting believes India will enter the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 semi-final as “favorites” when they face Australia at the Dubai International Stadium on Tuesday.
Speaking to Sanjana Ganesan on The ICC Review, Ponting highlighted India’s unbeaten run in the tournament and their familiarity with the conditions as key advantages.
“I think India are going to start favorites in this game. I don’t think there’s any doubt about that with what they’ve done in the tournament so far. The fact that they’re playing in the venue that they’ve played their games in. They haven’t had to move and travel. They’ve been training on those wickets all the time. Australia have rushed in to Dubai to get ready for the game,” Ponting said.
Australia advanced to the semi-finals as the second-ranked team from Group B with four points, while India topped Group A after winning all their group-stage matches.
Ponting also suggested that India could use their 2023 ODI World Cup final loss to Australia as motivation but noted that experienced players in the squad are unlikely to dwell on past defeats.
“Big games and big moments like that, you would hope that would be left behind in the dressing room that night, and you got to move on pretty quickly,” he said. “They’ve got a lot of experienced players in this Indian side, a different coach as well, which might mean they haven’t focused on it. If they’re playing well, I don’t think they need to be focused on anything other than just making sure they find a way to get better every game.”
India heads into the semi-final after a 44-run win over New Zealand in their final group match.
