Is India-Australia rivalry bigger than India-Pakistan? Ricky Ponting weighs in

The India-Australia cricket rivalry has officially reached new heights, as a staggering 837,879 spectators attended the recently concluded Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25. This five-match Test series between the two cricketing powerhouses set a new record for attendance, surpassing previous records.

The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) alone saw 373,691 fans over five days, breaking the previous attendance record of 350,534 set in 1937. This significant increase in crowd numbers highlights the growing intensity of the India-Australia rivalry, which has now surpassed the traditional England-Australia Ashes rivalry in terms of fan support.

Reacting to the massive turnout, former Australia captain Ricky Ponting has stated that it is now hard to argue against the India-Australia rivalry being the biggest in world cricket, even surpassing the Ashes. Ponting expressed his surprise at the extraordinary crowd numbers during the BGT 2024-25 series.

Looking ahead, Ponting is eager to see how the Ashes 2025 series fares in terms of attendance when England visits Australia for the five-match Test series. He believes that if the crowd numbers are not as high, it will be clear that the India-Australia rivalry has overtaken the Ashes, at least from the perspective of the fans.

Ponting was quoted by The ICC Review: “I had a look at the numbers yesterday; it was something like 837,000 people came to watch the Test matches, which is unheard of here in Australia. So now that this series has happened, Australia has 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.”

Ponting also discussed the two-fold nature of rivalries in cricket, noting that there’s what fans want to see and the fierce competition between the teams. He stressed that while fan numbers are important, the players’ view of the rivalry is just as significant.

He added, “There are 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. Perth only went four days, Adelaide only went three days, and 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.”

Former India head coach Ravi Shastri has also praised the increasing interest in Test cricket, particularly after the record-breaking Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25. He pointed out that the MCG’s attendance of 375,000 spectators surpassed a 90-year-old record set in 1936/37.

Shastri emphasized that the surge in attendance shows how Test cricket’s appeal has grown. He noted that exciting moments in Test matches have brought fans back to stadiums, with many even traveling from overseas to witness the action in person.

The record-breaking numbers at the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 signify a turning point in the popularity of Test cricket, with the India-Australia rivalry continuing to draw fans in unprecedented numbers.