India are a better team away from home now than they are at home: Ricky Ponting

Legendary Australian Captain Ricky Ponting recently lauded the Indian team's ability to excel in foreign conditions, mentioning that they perform better abroad than on home soil. Ponting's comments followed India’s brilliant 295-run victory over Australia in the first Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT 2024-25).

The Perth Test was expected to challenge the Indian team, given the pace-friendly conditions. However, the visitors stunned the home side, bouncing back strongly after a decent first-innings total of 150. Led by stellar batting performances from Yashasvi Jaiswal (161), KL Rahul (77), and Virat Kohli (100*), the tourists set a huge target of 534 runs. The Indian pace trio of Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, and Harshit Rana then dismantled Australia’s batting.

"Australia lost by what? Nearly 300 runs. So, they'll be very disappointed. Everyone asked me on day one when India won the toss about having a bat, and I said, no, absolutely, you have to bat first there. Four test matches have been played there. The team batting first has won all four times," Ponting told Star Sports.

"You don't want to go against what stats say. Although they were out for 150, they still got a chance to bowl on the wicket when it was probably at its best to bowl on. And Bumrah in those conditions, and Siraj, and all three of them. And Nitesh Reddy today. They're all very good," he continued ahead.

Jaiswal is certainly very skillful: Ricky Ponting

Team India’s victory saw them adapt to the challenging conditions after some poor first sessions. Meanwhile, Australian pacer Mitchell Starc praised Yashasvi Jaiswal's technique. Their win in Perth resulted in Australia’s second-heaviest defeat at home in the last 40 years.

As a result, this ended their unbeaten streak at the Optus Stadium in Perth. The victory also saw India’s strength in adapting to challenging environments, with Bumrah leading the charge. His match figures (8/72) were among the finest performances by an Indian bowler overseas. Besides, he also lauded the young India opener, Yashasvi Jaiswal, for his magnificent knock which was a comeback in the second innings after getting dismissed cheaply by Starc earlier.

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"He's not in his first game, so there's obviously been a bit of hype around him, and he's certainly very skillful. I think we saw that over the second innings this week. He's a huge talent in India, and he's going to play a lot of cricket for them. It was nice to get him cheaply in the first innings, but he certainly made amends in the second,” the former Australia Captain added.

"So, you've got to give them credit. I must admit, I didn't think that they could win the first test, India, going there in Perth with conditions that are so foreign to them. But I also made a point going into the test match that I actually think India are a better team away from home now than they are at home," the 49-year-old stated.

"I think they play foreign wickets and conditions better than they play their own conditions now. And I think that's been proven over the last week in Perth,” Ponting concluded.