Ponting, Shastri predict India-Australia CT final

Ravi Shastri and Ricky Ponting have tipped India and Australia to make it to the Champions Trophy final, picking England and South Africa as other prospective semi-finalists.

- HT Correspondent

KOLKATA: Ravi Shastri and Ricky Ponting have tipped India and Australia to make it to the Champions Trophy final, picking England and South Africa as other prospective semi-finalists. Since Pakistan will stage all non-India matches as Champions Trophy hosts, the former captains feel they will also give the other contenders a run for their money.

"It's hard to go past India and Australia again," Ponting told The ICC Review. "Just think about the quality of players in both countries right now, and you look back in recent history when these big finals and big ICC events have come around and inevitably Australia and India are there somewhere." The teams met in the final of the last big ICC event, the 2023 ODI World Cup, where Australia beat the hosts.