R Sridhar, in interaction with Ravichandran Ashwin on his Youtube channel, revealed how Ravi Shastri turned the fortunes of the side around.
The Indian cricket team was in the doldrums after being bowled out for 36 in the Pink Ball Test against Australia in Adelaide. With Virat Kohli leaving the team to be with his wife Anushka Sharma for the birth of their child and with injuries piling up, the Indian cricket team faced an uphill task. With every passing match, injuries to the bowlers mounted and it came to such an extent that in the final Test in Brisbane, the combined experience of the Indian cricket team bowlers was just seven. Yet, under the calm captaincy of Ajinkya Rahane, one month after the debacle of Adelaide, India scripted history as they ended Australia's 32-year hold in the Gabba and won the Border-Gavaskar trophy for the third straight time to overcome massive odds.
In an interaction with Ravichandran Ashwin on his Youtube channel, R Sridhar, the fielding coach of the Indian cricket team revealed how the speech by India national cricket team head coach Ravi Shastri turned the fortunes of the side around after the disaster in Adelaide. Sridhar said, "After 36 all-out, you didn't know what's next. Then Ravi (Shastri) bhai gathered the team and said: 'Wear this 36 like a badge on your sleeves and you will be a great team'. After 40 days, it was gospel truth. Also, we had five meetings in two days after the Adelaide Test finished on the third evening. Virat (Kohli), Jinks (Ajinkya Rahane) and the coaching staff discussed combination and Virat gave some lovely suggestions for the MCG Test before leaving. I don't think there could have been a better execution in Melbourne," Sridhar said.
This speech turned around India's fortunes as Ajinkya Rahane led from the front to win in Melbourne. In Sydney, India's grit and determination came out as Hanuma Vihari and R Ashwin batted for 42 overs with a torn hamstring and back strain respectively to deny Australia the chance to win the series. Hanuma Vihari had not played any cricket since February 2020 and his fitness took a hit. However, Hanuma Vihari's rearguard was what helped India give the belief for Brisbane.
"He stood at short leg for three Tests which also contributed to the injury. But what he did in Sydney gave us the belief that we could do it in Brisbane. Vihari is an intense, young man. He is not your normal, jovial kind of guy. He can go into a shell very soon, and that's his strength also and it helped him in Sydney. Despite being on a heavy dose of painkillers, which could make you a bit drowsy, he actually pulled off a miracle in Sydney," Sridhar revealed
The miracle of Brisbane, Natarajan's will
T Natarajan was included as a net bowler in the tour but such was the spate of injuries that he was included to make his debut in Brisbane. The move was so sudden that Sridhar revealed that Natarajan had to borrow one pair from Washington Sundar and Ravichandran Ashwin when he was named in the team. Sridhar once again cited the inspiration of Ravi Shastri, coining the new phrase Raviship in place of leadership.
"Before the Brisbane Test started, Ravi Bhai had one mantra, 'Nattu is no less than (Jasprit) Bumrah and Washy is no less than Ashwin, and that will be your mindset'. If you two are crossing that boundary line wearing that India cap, you are no less than the person next to you," Sridhar said.
On Washington Sundar, the fielding coach said, "We kept him here after white-ball games because we didn't want Ash to bowl too much at the nets but Nathan Lyon was always going to be an integral part of the Aussie line-up so we needed our batsmen to get net sessions. We used Washy to bowl into the rough. When Washy would bowl to our top order at nets, I would go and tell him 'Washy, give the ball over-spin because that's the need of the hour on Australian pitches, up (pitching it up) and over spin as you have to put your whole body behind the ball, because it requires energy."
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