Ricky Ponting batsmen in danger on the final day, a rearguard counterattacking partnership by Kevin Pietersen and Ashley Giles on the final afternoon secured a draw for the hosts. Thus, the Ashes were lost for the first time in 16 years. The setback to Australia, and to Ponting as Australian captain, of the 2005 Ashes defeat, was to prove a strong motivation for the Australian camp to improve their standards and overcome any complacency that may have arisen from Australia's being the world's premier cricketing nation for a decade. Prior to the Ashes defeat, Australia's dominance had prompted the ICC to organise
Ricky Ponting with the Australian cricket team in India in 2008–09 insignificance besides trying with every power at his disposal to retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. There was a match to win. To an almost bizarre degree, Ponting lost the plot." "Over 131 years, 404 men have been accorded to the honour of wearing the baggy green cap, arguably the most significant and recognizable symbol in Australian team sport," wrote Australian Broadcasting Corporation's (ABC) Glenn Mitchell. "Many today would have hung their head in sadness while others would have turned and in their grave. What happened today in Nagpur was at odds with team sport is all about. May it never be