Australia's goal is to beat India in their own backyard: Justin Langer
May 02, 2020
Melbourne [Australia], May 2 : Australia head coach Justin Langer has said that his side will only be called great if they manage to defeat India in India.
His remarks came as Australia dethroned India to take the top spot in the ICC Test rankings.
"I said in my first conference as coach that we will know we are a great team if we can beat India in India. That is certainly a great goal for us. We know they are so tough to beat so only then will we really know we can claim the number one spot," Langer said in an official statement.
"The last time we played India here, they beat us for the first time in Australia so we will be determined to beat them when they come back," he added.
Australia and India are slated to play against each other in a four-match Test series later this year. However, the future of the series hangs in the balance due to the coronavirus pandemic.
When India had last toured Australia in 2018, the Men in Blue were able to win their first Test series in Australia.
In the latest update, Australia also managed to reach the number one spot in the T20I rankings. This is the first time that the side has managed to reach the number one position in the shortest format.
Now, the side would look to win the T20 World Cup which is slated to be played in October-November this year.
"I also know how hard it is to win the World Cup. England were very deserved winners of the One-Day World Cup last year and everything has to go right, you cannot have an off day," Langer said.
In the latest ICC rankings update, that rates all matches played since May 2019 at 100 per cent and those of the previous two years at 50 per cent, Australia (116) have taken over from India as the top-ranked side in the ICC men's Test team rankings with New Zealand (115) remaining in second place.
India are now third with 114 points. With only two points separating them, this is the second closest the top three teams have been since the Test rankings were launched in 2003.
The closest for the top three teams were in January 2016, when India had led Australia and South Africa by a single point.
