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Former Indian coach Ravi Shastri believes the 2020 Adelaide Test, where India were bowled out for 36, should serve as a reminder for the current team playing the day-night Test against Australia.
India, led by Virat Kohli at the time, suffered their lowest-ever Test score in the second innings of that Adelaide Test, leading to an eight-wicket defeat against Australia.
Despite the heavy defeat, India made a remarkable comeback, winning the four-Test series 2-1 and securing the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
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“I don’t think it (Adelaide drubbing) will play any role but it should be at the back of their mind because you know things happen very quickly with a pink ball,” Shastri, who was the coach of the India team during the series, told The ICC Review.
India currently hold a 1-0 lead in the ongoing series and will face Australia in the second Test.
“You realise that in a session of play if things don’t go your way and the bowling is good, things can happen rapidly.”
Shastri described the Adelaide defeat as a freak occurrence, stating he had never witnessed so many edges carrying to fielders in his long cricketing career.
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“What we did after that 36 was — like I said at that time — that I’d never seen, and I said it in the dressing room, I’d never seen so much of playing and nicking as opposed to playing and missing.”
“And I’d watched cricket for about 40 years. And to be honest, that was a session where hardly any player played and missed. If he did anything, he got a nick. So it was not beating the bat. You know, the bowlers (being) unlucky… it was just the batsmen being unlucky on that day.”
Shastri believes India’s current 1-0 lead provides an excellent opportunity to increase pressure on Australia.
“Now the fact that they are one-up, should put them in a really great frame of mind going ahead in this Test match because I think it’s a massive opportunity for India to tighten the screws further. The pressure will be on Australia.”
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He emphasizes that hitting rock bottom in Adelaide allowed for a rebound.
“In my mind, it was very clear you can’t do worse than that (Adelaide). You’ll have a day when the luck is in your favour and you can bounce back. And that’s exactly what happened.”
Shastri highlighted the importance of remaining calm under pressure.
“Sometimes you don’t over-think when something as drastic as that happens. You don’t want a knee-jerk reaction taking place where you just lose the plot. Sometimes calmness in situations like that produce the best results.”
After the Adelaide defeat, India leveled the series in Melbourne and drew the Sydney Test.
Despite numerous injuries, the team, then led by Ajinkya Rahane, achieved a memorable victory in Brisbane, securing the historic series win.
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