'We were all numb and shocked'- Ravi Shastri opens up on India's Adelaide debacle

Former India head coach Ravi Shastri has opened about the team’s 36 all-out against Australia in the Pink-ball Test in Adelaide.

The Virat Kohli-led team were in ascendency during the majority parts of days one and two and had also got handy first innings lead. But everything turned upside down when Josh Hazlewood made the ball swing under the lights. Shastri said the Indian team were in a state of shock “for days” after getting bowled out out for the lowest Test score ever.

“See, the coach is in the firing line; there is no choice. That is the quirk of the job. You have to be ready from day one. I knew there would be no escape routes. The 36 all out was the lowest point,” Shastri, whose tenure as a head coach came to an end after the 2021 T20 World Cup in November this year, told The Week.

“We had nine wickets in hand (overnight) and then we were bundled out for 36. All that had to be done was score to 80-odd more runs (to be in the game). We were all numb. We were in a state of shock for days. How could that have happened?” said the 59-year-old former all-rounder.

It was not hunky-dory for Australia as it seemed from the end result of the Adelaide Test. India got a decent first innings score of 244 in the first innings and managed to dismiss the hosts for 194. On the third day, all the visitors wanted to do was see off the first hour. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen as the team collapsed inside 20 overs.

I told the boys to focus on what they could do: Ravi Shastri

After the horrendous show in Adelaide, India managed to turn a corner and went on to win the series 2-1. During the course of the three Tests, the hosts didn’t have Virat Kohli, Ravi Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja, amongst others, due to personal reasons and injuries. Shastri said he told the players to focus on what they could do.

“It was not just me. I would be the first to put my hand up and say I was the one responsible, take the brickbats; there is no place to hide. I told the boys to focus on what they could do. The boys were unbelievable. One month after that 36 all out, on January 19, we had won the series. I am still thinking, how did that happen? I promise, as long as I live, people will talk about that series win,” said Shastri.