The Gabba triumph of 2021 is remembered as the day Rishabh Pant dismantled Australia’s pride at their so-called fortress. Rishabh Pant’s fearless and unbeaten knock of 89 runs against Australia at the Gabba became one of the most iconic Test knocks in history.
Chasing down 324, Shubman Gill laid the foundation with a fluent 91, but Pant’s quick scoring and aggressive approach helped India to break Australia’s long-standing dominance at their so-called fortress and win the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
Justin Langer downplays Rishabh Pant’s Gabba magic
For Indian cricket fans, the Gabba win was nothing short of a fairytale, as a depleted squad, injury-hit warriors, and a young wicketkeeper delivered the modern classic cricket at the Gabba.
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Pant’s knock is still considered one of the iconic Test innings, but the former Australian head coach Justin Langer has played down the magic of that moment.
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Langer, who works with Rishabh Pant at Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in the IPL, has suggested that the left-handed batter’s innings wasn’t entirely extraordinary, as he pointed out how the pitch that day was flatter than usual and the conditions were different from the typical Gabba challenge.
It was the flattest wicket: Justin Langer
The former Australia coach has noted that changes in the conditions reduced Australia’s usual home advantage, and it helped the Indian wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant to play that match-winning knock at the Gabba.
Justin Langer said on the “For the Love of Cricket” podcast: “Brisbane was always a cauldron for us and has been for years. We lost to India a couple of Test series ago.
Rishabh Pant played an incredible innings at the Gabba. But it was also the fourth Test during Covid, and it was the flattest wicket. That time of year in January was different from playing in November. We have lost that advantage.”
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What did Justin Langer say after the Gabba defeat in 2021?
Langer’s remarks on the podcast were completely contrary to the statement that he gave after the Gabba defeat in 2021. The former Australian head coach had compared Pant’s innings with Ben Stokes’ memorable hundred at Headingley in 2019 against Australia.
He had said at the press conference in Brisbane back in 2021, “It was an amazing effort. (Rishabh) Pant’s innings somewhat reminded me of Ben Stokes’ innings in Headingley, actually. He came in; he was almost fearless, and he will be lauded because of it. It was an unbelievable innings.”
Now, it will be interesting to see how Pant would react to Langer, his LSG head coach’s, remark on his memorable knock at The Gabba. Notably, India had defeated Australia by three wickets in the absence of Virat Kohli at The Gabba and won the Test series with a 2-1 margin Down Under.
Interestingly, reports suggest that Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) could decide to part ways with either Justin Langer or mentor Zaheer Khan ahead of IPL 2026 following a poor 2025 season.
