Virat Kohli slammed his 39th ODI hundred on Tuesday. (File)
Australia coach Justin Langer heaped praises on India captain Virat Kohli after the 30-year-old slammed a record-equalling 39th ODI ton. Drawing comparisons with Sachin Tendulkar, Langer said that the Kohli’s balance while playing 360-degree shots in all formats of the game is simply extraordinary.
“I would like to have them both in my team. Sachin was an incredible cricketer. I used to watch him and it was like he was meditating. He was so calm and that’s why his record is peerless,” Langer was quoted as saying in the post-match presentation.
“Virat is doing the same thing. He is so calm and so competitive, and technically his balance is unbelievable. For him to play 360-degree shots in all formats of the game, his balance is unbelievable,” Langer added.
“He (Kohli) is a great competitor and his concentration is extra ordinary and for someone to make so many runs as he has it is incredible like all the great players,” he said.
“Sachin and Virat, and MS Dhoni, who averages 50-plus in 340 games, they are all-time great players and our guys are in the best seats at the moment, playing some of the best all-time great ODI players and they will be better from the experience,” Langer added.
Admitting that the inexperience of his side did play a part in the run chase, Langer said, “We were playing against three all-time great one-day international players (also referring to Rohit Sharma at the SCG). We saw it in the first one, and class always come to the top, and we have seen that with India so we must respect that.”
“The way Virat and MS batted today, you hate losing but when you see that – it’s amazing. That’s why they are such great players so we will gain great experience from it.
“In big tournaments like the World Cup, I like to see our guys under pressure like they were tonight so it will be much better for the experience. And it’s still one-all in the series, and it means it’s alive and well. The MCG game is going to be huge, and we can’t wait for that,” he added.
Lauding Shaun Marsh for his seventh ODI hundred, the coach said, “I thought Shaun Marsh’s innings was absolutely brilliant. We had some good 50-run partnerships but we talked about getting big hundreds, Shaun did that.
“We probably lost those two wickets just at the end with Shaun and Glenn Maxwell getting out just at the end. It might have cots us 15 or so runs which obviously in the context of this game it would have been handy,” said Langer.
“He’s turning into a great one-day international player, four hundreds in eight games. You’d like to see him get hundreds and win. It would have been a perfect day for him,” he concluded.
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