After a heart-breaking 3-0 home Test series loss to New Zealand, India is gearing up for their crucial five-match red-ball series in Australia. The first Test match of the BGT 2024-25 series is scheduled to take place in Perth, starting from November 22. As the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 approaches, former Australian captain Ricky Ponting has shared his confidence that the Australian team will come out strong against Rohit Sharma's Indian side in the five-match series. Ponting earlier predicted a 3-1 victory for Australia back in August, and India's recent home Test series loss to New Zealand didn’t alter his opinion. Ponting still feels that Australia will comfortably win the Test series. Also Read: Australia’s Marnus Labuschagne Makes Shocking Revelation on Virat Kohli Ahead of the BGT During the latest episode of The ICC Review with host Sanjana Ganesan, Ponting expressed that leaving Shami out of India's lineup would pose greater challenges for the visiting team. As quoted by the ICC, Ponting said: "Probably more so now. Shami just leaves such a big hole in that bowling group. Back then there was still some conjecture about whether Shami would be fit or not. I think taking 20 wickets in a Test match for India is going to be the biggest challenge. I think they'll bat well enough out here with the current group of batters that they've got." He further said: "I think India will win a Test match somewhere through the five Test matches. But I still think now, Australia probably look a bit more settled, a bit more experienced and we know that they're a very hard team to beat at home. So I'll stick with the 3-1." For the Indian team, this series is a make-or-break situation: failing to secure a win would eliminate them from the race to reach the WTC final in 2025.