Ravi Shastri reiterated that India has shown tenacity in the recent past to bounce back from morale-crushing losses to stage-famous wins, suggesting people not to count India out with two matches to go. The recent Test series in Australia was a big example of India staging a comeback series victory with their backs to the wall.
India will be heading into the Oval Test on the back of a crushing innings defeat at Headingly, but Ravi Shastri has a clear-cut message to his boys – Remember the good, forget the bad – and that is what the India head coach will be expecting from the team when they face England in the fourth Test starting Thursday.
Ravi Shastri Urges India To Think Of Victory At Lords And Forget The Loss At Headingley
Ravi Shastri said that with the series level at 1-1, the onus is on England to perform and win the series the way India beat them in the latter’s home Test series earlier this year.
“It’s very easy, you just go back to Lord’s. Just think Lord, forget the last one. As simple as that. I know it’s easier said than done but we should remember your good moments as well. Such things happen in the game,” Shastri told ‘Times Now Navbharat’ while promoting his new book ‘Stargazing’.
“England was in the driver’s seat and we snatched victory. In the last Test match, they bowled brilliantly. They caught us on the hop on the very first day of the Test match, they put us on the back foot,” Shastri stated.
“Even though we showed glimpses of a fight in the second innings, I think that first, you know, early dismissal of our players and getting all out for 78 played its part. But this series is wide open.”
Being 1-0 down, losing the services of regular skipper Virat Kohli due to his paternity leave, having lost several key players like Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Hanuma Vihari, Ravichandran Ashwin, KL Rahul, and Ravindra Jadeja due to injuries at various stages of 4 match Test series, a second-string Ajinkya Rahane-led India staged a comeback as they won their second straight Test series on Australian soil.
In the next Test series against England in India, England won the first Test by 227 runs only to lose the next 3 Tests by 317 runs, 10 wickets, and an innings and 25 runs. Ravichandran Ashwin picked 32 scalps and debutant Axar Patel picked 27 scalps. Joe Root amassed 368 runs while Rohit Sharma managed 345 runs.
Ravi Shastri: Pressure Is On England As India Won’t Back Off
India has shown tenacity in the recent past to bounce back from morale-crushing losses to stage-famous wins – the series in Australia was a big example of the comeback. Ravi Shastri reiterated the same, suggesting people not to count India out with two matches to go.
In the Australian tour, after losing the first Test in Adelaide by eight wickets, India roared back to take the series 2-1, winning the second and fourth Tests in Melbourne and Brisbane respectively, while the third Test match in Sydney ended in a magnificent draw.
“If anyone thinks that this Indian team is going to back off, they have another thing coming because, at 1-1, we are playing overseas, the pressure is on England. They have to win in their own country. We have done what we had to do with them in India. So, the ball is in their court and we will fight, there’s no question about it,” Shastri added.
The India coach reckons that with the series level at 1-1, the pressure is not on India, but on hosts England.