Former Team India head coach Ravi Shastri has taken a sly dig at former Australia batsman Mark Waugh for the prediction he made during the last Test series between India and Australia.
Ravi Shastri was the coach of the Indian team that visited Australia for the 2020/21 season. It was a memorable tour for Team India as they exceeded all the expectations and defied all the odds to register a memorable Test series win.
The Test series started on a humiliating note for the visitors though. India were all out for just 36 in the first Test as Australia crushed them by 8 wickets. With Virat Kohli leaving the team after the Test and several key players absent due to injuries, India’s chances in the series were not looking very bright.
Ravi Shastri takes shot at Mark Waugh:
India, however, went on to defy all the odds and won the series 2-1. They won the second Test in Melbourne before earning a hard-fought draw in Sydney. It was followed by a historic run chase at the Gabba.
And as both the teams renewed their Test rivalry on Thursday (February 9) in Nagpur, Ravi Shastri made sure to remind Mark Waugh about the prediction he made during the last Test series between the two teams. It all began when Waugh and Dinesh Karthik had a heated discussion after the latter made a prediction for the ongoing Test.
“Mark Waugh has said it is good to make predictions. If you get one or two right, you will be remembered. Well, I remember him for a prediction he made after we were 36 all out in Adelaide where he said India will get hammered 4-0. Wow. Keep predicting Mark,” said Ravi Shastri.
Talking about Waugh’s prediction during the last Test series between India and Australia, he had said: “No hope. I thought Adelaide was the Test that they could win on paper and with Virat Kohli here for just the one Test. I thought the conditions would suit them. I just can’t see how they can bounce back (after) Australia whitewashed them on the third day. So ‘no’ is the answer – 4-0 to Australia.”
Meanwhile, India finished day one on top of the proceedings in Nagpur. After bowling Australia out for a modest total of 177, the hosts finished the day on 77 for 1 with skipper Rohit Sharma leading the charge with the bat.