Beating India in India in 2004 was the Mt Everest of my career: Justin Langer

Former Australia cricketer and their current head coach Justin Langer reckons that beating India back in the 2004 Tests in the latter’s backyard was the ‘Mt Everest’ of his career. The Aussies won two of the first three Tests and took an unassailable 2-0 lead before Rahul Dravid’s team beat them in the dead-rubber by 13 runs at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

Even as Damien Martyn was the leading run-scorer of the series, Langer didn’t have the greatest of times, scoring 228 runs at an average of 28.5 with two half-centuries. Ahead of the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Langer feels that the rivalry between the two teams has grown and some exciting matches seem to be in the offing.

We knew how hard it was, says Australia

“This is a great series, a great rivalry that has been built up for a long time between Australia and India… A great rivalry for world cricket, I think,” Langer was quoted as saying in a virtual media interaction.

“I’ve said many times, beating India in India in 2004 was the Mt Everest of my career because we knew how hard it was!” he stated.

In the 2018-19 Test series, Virat Kohli became the first Indian skipper to win a Test series on Australian soil. While Cheteshwar Pujara and Rishabh Pant led the run-charts, the Indian fast bowlers were able to ruffle the feathers of the visitors’ batters. Langer mentioned that the victory was a watershed moment for Kohli and Co.

“In the past, India has found it hard to win over here (in Australia). I guess I’ve never heard Virat (Kohli) say it but beating us over here last time (2018-19) … These moments are very important in each of our cricket, whether as individuals or as a collective experience,” he added.

In their previous Test series, the Aussies didn’t have the services of Steve Smith and David Warner. However, both are a part of the upcoming series, though Warner won’t play the first Test.

The series gets underway on Thursday, December 17 with the Day-Night Test at the Adelaide Test. Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane are the hosts for the remaining three Tests.