India’ historic triumph in January at the Gabba in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy seemingly impressed Australia’s left-handed opening batsman Usman Khawaja as well.
The Indian side, that played practically their B team in absence of senior players, won the fourth Test at Gabba by three wickets. Courtesy of Shubman Gill’s 91 and Rishabh Pant’s 89* not out, India chased down the 328-run target to become the first team to beat the Kangaroos at Brisbane Cricket Ground in the last 33 years.
The January showdown between the two Test-playing nations garnered heaps of praise for the visitors who were led by Ajinkya Rahane in Virat Kohli’s absence.
Related: What losing Pat Cummins could mean for KKR in IPL 2021
Recalling India’s 2-1 series win, Usman Khawaja told Cricwick: “Obviously, it was disappointing as an Australian fan but it was great for the game. To do it at the Gabba, no one ever expected it, particularly from India. That’s the beauty of cricket. I actually thought that was really good for the game.”
Khawaja believes that India’s handling of the Australian pace cartel as well as Nathon Lyon gave them the advantage over the hosts.
“I think at the end of the day, India were the better team. They played our fast bowlers better than we thought they would. They blunted our pace attack, they blunted Nathan Lyon and our bowlers couldn’t finish it off. It’s as simple as that. That can happen.”