Justin Langer, coach of the Australian cricket team, has admitted that his team has not lived up to the challenge posed by India during the 2018-19 Border-Gavaskar Trophy and that Virat Kohli’s team deserved to emerge victorious.
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Kohli’s India created history by beating Australia on their soil to record their first test series victory in Australia in 71 years. Australia did not have two of their best hitters, Steve Smith and David Warner, but India edged out an otherwise strong Australian team to capture the series 2-1.
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Langer revealed what went wrong and how the series cost Australia. “If I go back to that time (2018-19), we missed a pitch at MCG (Melbourne Cricket Ground) after winning the test match in Perth; we missed the pitch at possibly the flattest wicket I’ve seen in test cricket … and they (India) bowled for almost two days, ”Langer told The Age newspaper.
“And then we had to back up and play SCG (Sydney Cricket Ground) next test match on pretty flat ground as well.”
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India won the first round in Adelaide by 31 races before Australia again tied the series with a stunning 146 race victory in Perth. India regained the lead with a 137-race victory at Melbourne, where Mayank Agarwal made his debut in India. The final test in Sydney ended in a draw, allowing India to clinch the four-round series 2-1.
That said, Australia has a chance to win back the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and in the absence of Kohli, who will miss three of the four events, Langer sees an opportunity.
“I don’t make excuses, but it was difficult to go back then. India was at the top of its game, it deserved to beat us for the first time in its history. But our boys are two years better and many of the Indians are the same, more experienced. I can’t wait for them to leave. I can’t wait, ”Langer added.
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