Australian cricket team coach Justin Langer admitted that his side had fallen short of the challenge posed by India during the 2018-19 Border-Gavaskar Trophy and that Virat Kohli’s team deserved to emerge victoriously.
Kohli’s India made history as they beat Australia on their soil to enroll their first Test series win Down Under in quite a while. Australia were without two of their head batsmen Steve Smith and David Warner, yet India beat a generally solid Australian group to catch the arrangement 2-1.
Australia vs India 2018-19 meetup
Langer revealed what went wrong and how it cost Australia the series. “If I go back to that time (2018-19), we lost a toss at the MCG (Melbourne Cricket Ground) after winning the Perth Test match – lost the toss on possibly the flattest wicket I’ve seen in Test cricket… and they (India) bowled for nearly two days,” Langer was quoted as saying by The Age newspaper.
“And then we had to back it up and play at the SCG (Sydney Cricket Ground) the next Test match on a pretty flat wicket as well.”
India won the first Test in Adelaide by 31 runs before Australia roared back to level the series with a commanding 146-run win in Perth. India took back the lead with a 137-run win in Melbourne, where Mayank Agarwal made his Indian debut. The final Test in Sydney ended in a draw, allowing India to clinch the four-Test series 2-1.
Justin Langer on Virat Kohli Absence
That said, Australia have a chance at regaining the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and in the absence of Kohli, who will miss three of the four Tests, Langer sees an opening.
“Not making excuses, but it was tough going back then. India were on top of their game, they deserved to beat us for the first time in their history. But our guys are two years better and a lot of the Indians are the same, more experienced. I can’t wait to see them go. Can’t wait,” Langer added.
