Australia head coach Justin Langer said that his team can re-establish themselves as the best in the world while preparing for a possible semi-final showdown against Pakistan in the ongoing T20 World Cup 2021.
The Kangaroos made it into the semis as they beat West Indies in their last league stage match thanks to David Warner’s 89* helping Australia to an eight-wicket win over the West Indies that secured the second spot in Group 1 of the competition's Super 12 phase.
"Not that long ago we were the best team in the world and some of that cricket shows we can be the best team in the world. I think England are leading the way at the moment and we've got exciting prospects. We're taking great lessons from this tournament on how we can continue to play T20 cricket now, for this tournament, and moving forward,” Langer told reporters.
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After losing to arch-rivals England, comprehensive wins over Bangladesh and the West Indies ended those doubts and the Australians are likely to face Pakistan, who lead Group 2 with their final match against Scotland to be played on Sunday, in Thursday's semi-finals.
"It was brilliant again last night, I think our last few games have been outstanding cricket. The boys have really stepped up. It was quite a sobering experience against England. We knew we had to do some work and the way the boys responded to that has been brilliant, so it's nice to be in the semi-final. You can't win it unless you're in the semi-final. It's nice to be sitting here, knowing we're in a semi-final on Thursday,” he said.
Langer also said that he was looking forward to the knockout clash against Pakistan.
He said: "They've got a good all-round team, like we have, and they're well-led. Their captain, Babar Azam, is a superstar of the game. They've some good pace bowlers and they've a couple of good spinners, so they're a well-balanced side like we are, so it should be a great game of cricket.”
(Reuters inputs)
