"Point To Prove": Ricky Ponting Makes Huge Prediction On India-Australia Series

Ricky Ponting believes Australia will have a "point to prove" after two straight Test series defeats at home against India and backed the Pat Cummins-led side to win the five-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy 3-1 come November-December. India, who have returned victorious in both their previous Test assignments Down Under with identical margins of 2-1, will take on the world No.1 Australia in a five-Test series starting on November 22. "It's going to be a competitive series. Australia has got a bit of a point to prove against India in Australia on the back of what happened the last the last two series here," Ponting told 'The ICC Review'. "We are back to (having) five Tests as well, which is the other really important thing about this series. It has only been four Tests the last couple of time. (To have) five Tests, everyone is really excited by that and I don't know if there'd be too many drawn games.

"I'm obviously going to tip Australia to win and I'm never going to tip against Australia. There will be a draw somewhere and there will be some bad weather somewhere, so I'm going to say 3-1 to Australia," he added.

India and Australia have not played a five-Test series after their bilateral affairs came to be known as the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Before that, in 1991-92, India had toured Australia for a five-Test series.

Ponting backed India's left-arm seamer Khaleel Ahmed, whom he coached in the IPL at Delhi Capitals, to be a part of India's touring party.

"Someone like Khaleel Ahmed, I think, could find himself on the Test tour. He has just been over in Zimbabwe recently and played that (T20I) series over there, but a left-armer would be ideal for them to have in their touring squad," Ponting said.

The former Australia