Shastri, Ponting hail record-breaking BGT attendance

PTI, Jan 6, 2025, 8:38 PM IST

Sydney: Former stars Ravi Shastri and Ricky Ponting have hailed the record-breaking attendance during the five-match Test series Down Under, suggesting the face-off between India and Australia could surpass the Ashes as cricket’s biggest rivalry.

India’s decade-long dominance in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy ended on Sunday as Australia reclaimed the title with a 3-1 series win, with the rubber drawing an unprecedented attendance of 837,000 across five Tests.

Former India coach Shastri said there is little doubt the rivalry between the two teams is “unreal” in the modern era.

“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 said on ‘The ICC Review’.

“(In) 1936/1937, when the ‘G’ could hold 120,000 people and when Bradman was playing.

“It just goes to show the sudden interest in the modern era. The bar has been raised. The bar has been raised big time.” “For people to get out there and watch cricket when there is television, when there is OTT platforms, where all that is there, still for 375,000 people to come (to Melbourne) and then replicate that in Sydney with full houses, it’s unreal,” Shastri added.

Shastri, who was in charge of the team when India won back-to-back Test series in Australia in 2017-18 and 2020-21, also hailed the home team’s captain Pat Cummins.

“He (Cummins) amazes me,” said the former India all-rounder.

“Even when I was the coach in the dressing room, I would just admire his determination, his willingness to compete. He never gives up and it’s 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.” Backing Shastri’s view, Ponting said the numbers of 837,000 people coming to watch the Tests was unheard of 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 parts to this: There’s what the fans want to see and the rivalry that they want to make of it, but it’s also how the players view the rivalry between the three teams now,” Ponting said.

The attendance figures could have been much bigger had there been no early finishes or rain interruptions in Brisbane.

“Perth only went four days, Adelaide only went three days, Sydney only went three days. Those numbers would have been astronomical if those Test matches all went five days. So exactly this time next year, we’ll have a great idea of the biggest 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 said.

“Right now, it’s really hard to argue that this isn’t the biggest rivalry in world cricket. It’s grown.

“Year on year and Ravi (Shastri) and I, we’ve been a part of most of these the last 15, 20 years. We’ve felt how it’s been growing and growing and the rivalry gets bigger and now the fans are into it as well.” Ponting also praised Australia’s ability to turn things around at the backend.

“When you lose a Test match (in Perth) like that against another very strong opposition side, you do have to do a bit of soul searching and do a lot of talking,” he said.

“It’s been a really good turnaround, especially when at the start of the series, I thought Australia would win 3-1, but I actually 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 conditions that you think India would normally play better in, Australia’s found a way to outplay them in Melbourne and Sydney.

“It was a really good turnaround and one that they’ll be happy with.