"Never ever ever underestimate the Indians" - Justin Langer
Justin Langer couldn't stop gushing over the Indian team's performance after the visitors clinched a record-creating victory in Brisbane to take the Border-Gavaskar Trophy home for the second consecutive time.
The Ajinkya Rahane-led India breached Australia's fortress, their bastion of pace and bounce - the Gabba - by 4 wickets. Mohammed Siraj, Shardul Thakur, Rishabh Pant, and Shubman Gill were the top performers for the winning side.
Talking to 7Cricket, Justin Langer called the tour 'incredible.'
"You cannot take anything for granted, never ever underestimate the Indians. 1.5 billion [people in India] and you play in the senior team, you have to be really tough. I couldn't appreciate India enough. It was an incredible Test series, there is a winner and there is a loser. Test cricket is the winner, it is going to hurt us big time. India deserves full credit, they have been outstanding," said Langer.
Pat Cummins was named the Player of the Series for his 21 wickets in four games at a remarkable average of 20.05. No wonder he's the number-one ranked bowler in Test matches.
Rishabh Pant's innings reminded me of Ben Stokes: Justin Langer
Rishabh Pant carried his bat through with a match-winning 89. Justin Langer said Pant's innings reminded him of Ben Stokes's Ashes century in the Headingly humdinger in 2019. He also praised Shubman Gill who laid the foundation for the visitors with an endearing 91.
"We will learn a lot of lessons from this. It is an amazing effort, Pant's innings reminded me of Ben Stokes at Headingley actually. He came in, he was fearless and he will be lauded for that. Young Shubman Gill also batted well, their young bowling attack kept us under pressure in the whole game. India deserves full credit," said Langer.
Justin Langer has a bag filled with headaches to resolve after the debilitating series loss. Not only does he have to find a balanced eleven; he even has to uplift it for the nearing tour of South Africa.