In the upcoming semi-final clash of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 scheduled to be played on Tuesday at Dubai International Stadium, it would be anything but surprising to see Ricky Ponting tipping Team India as the ‘favorite’.
The excitement then sparked by a face-off between two of the world’s topmost cricketing nations gets the second level by India and Australia meeting in an ODI match for the first time since the nail-biting contest at the 2023 Men’s Cricket World Cup Final.
ICC Champions Trophy 2025 reaches its final week, and the semi-final clash between India and Australia is exhilarating on the nail-biter list. Ponting’s tagging of India as the front-runners adds to that excitement and anticipation for the clash. Clearly, it is a match between two cricketing vistas, with both teams possessing some of the finest talents and hunger to become champions.
“I think India are going to start favourites”- Ricky Ponting
Ricky Ponting, a former Australian captain, thought Team India would start as “favourites” in Tuesday’s semi-final match in the ongoing ICC Champions Trophy 2025 at the Dubai International Sadium.
Speaking to Sanjana Ganesan in the latest edition of The ICC Review, Ponting said, “I think India are going to start favourites 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.”
India advanced to the semi-finals after defeating New Zealand by 44 runs in a match when both sides had already qualified for the last four.
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