Ravi Shastri names the player who made the difference in the Test series

India’s head coach Ravi Shastri came up with the view that India did not lose the recent Test series to England because of the hosts’ combined effort but for one man – Sam Curran. According to the coach who has come under the scanner in the wake of the team’s 1-4 loss in the series, it was the 20-year-old’s individual brilliance which made the difference between the two sides at key moments.

Sam, son of former Zimbabwe international Kevin Curran, shone with the bat and the ball in the series which was only the second in his career. His contribution with the bat lower down the order in the first Test in Birmingham and fourth Test in Southampton turned the tables on India and the visitors lost those two crucial games despite being in the driver’s seat.

He also took wickets at crucial moments to peg India back. Curran scored 272 runs and picked 11 wickets in four Tests he played in the series. England lost the Test at Trent Bridge in which Curran didn’t play. He was picked as the joint man of the series along with Indian captain Virat Kohli.

“I would not say (we) failed badly. But we tried. We must give credit where it is due. Virat and me were asked to pick the Man of the Series (for England) and we both picked Sam Curran. Look where Curran has scored, and, that is where he hurt us. More than England, it was Curran who hurt us,” Shastri told ESPN Cricinfo in an interview.

Pointing out the critical junctures of the series when Curran took the game from India, Shastri said, “In the first Test, England were 87 for 7 (in the second innings) at Edgbaston, he (Curran) got the runs. In the fourth Test, they were 86 for 6 (first innings) in Southampton, he got the runs. We were 50 for 0 (first innings) at Edgbaston, he got the wickets. So at crucial stages in this series, he chipped in with runs and wickets. That was the difference between the two sides.”

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