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Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting believes the current Indian side has established itself as one of the strongest white-ball teams ever, crediting their depth, experience and consistency in ICC events over the last few years.
India recently scripted history by becoming the first men's team to successfully defend the ICC Men's T20 World Cup title after defeating the New Zealand national cricket team by 96 runs in the final at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. The victory also marked India's first T20 World Cup triumph on home soil. Reflecting on India's dominance across ICC white-ball tournaments, Ponting said the team's record over the last few years speaks for itself. "It's really hard to argue a point against that," Ponting said on the ICC Review when asked if the current Indian group is the strongest ever assembled in T20I cricket. "If you look at this, not just the T20I team but their white-ball record in ICC events over the last five or six years, it's quite remarkable. "A lot of people probably identified before this tournament started the depth and the strength that this current Indian team had, and also the experience that they have." Ponting also highlighted that India's latest triumph is the result of years of building a squad capable of dominating global tournaments. "This is a very, very strong Indian white-ball team, not just a T20 team. Back-to-back World Cups, hats off to them," Ponting added. According to the former Australian skipper, the extensive match experience of Indian players, both in international cricket and the Indian Premier League, has played a crucial role in preparing them for high-pressure contests. "The one thing that's probably overlooked with this current team is the amount of experience and the amount of cricket a lot of these guys have played, whether it's international cricket or even just the IPL," he said. "The IPL games are every bit as big as international games anyway, so this Indian team came in well primed with great balance and a great squad." Despite their dominant run, India endured a setback during the Super Eight stage when they lost to the South Africa national cricket team by 76 runs in Ahmedabad. However, Ponting felt the defeat proved to be a timely wake-up call. "You win 12 matches on the trot, there's bound to be an off day. And I am glad it's come early. It might just be the shake-up India needed," he noted. "They would have learned from that experience and won't take things for granted." India responded strongly after the loss, posting totals of 250-plus in three of their final four matches, including the semi-final and the title clash, as they sealed another memorable campaign. "Maybe it just allowed them to regroup, get together, and talk about the things that are important to them as a team," Ponting added. "They solidified what they felt was their strongest playing XI and didn't make many changes at the back end of the tournament." With aggressive batting displays and a balanced bowling attack throughout the knockout stages, India capped off their dominant run with a comprehensive victory over New Zealand to retain the T20 World Cup crown. (ANI)
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