Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, in a chat with fielding coach R Sridhar on his YouTube channel, explained how head coach Ravi Shastri’s masterstroke helped Team India take ascendancy in the first Test.
Having been terribly beaten inside three days at the Adelaide Oval, Team India were down in the dumps and we’re absolutely in no position to have a high morale. However, a new day brought a new Test match and Team India were hoping to win the toss.
However, they lost the toss as luck was not on their side. On an MCG wicket that is suitable for batting, Team India could have been in for a long day in the field. But Ravi Shastri observed that there was a bit of dampness in the pitch as it was not like any other traditional drop-in wicket.
Ravi Shastri’s masterstroke that helped Team India at the MCG
Ravichandran Ashwin said that Ravi Shastri came hurrying into the dressing room as soon as the toss was done, and he instructed the 34-year-old to bowl inside the first 10 overs.
Ashwin was baffled by this advice as spinners do not usually get purchase in Australia in the first hour of a Test match. However, Ravi Shastri seemed to be right in his judgement as Ashwin got grip and turn in his very first over.
“When we lost the toss at the MCG, Ravi Shastri came in the massive dressing room at Melbourne and told me, ‘Ash! Get the ball inside the first ten overs! It might be damp, it might spin I have told Jinks.’ Bumrah had bowled a great spell and got the wicket of Joe Burns. Mohammed Siraj was on his debut. But Jinks gave me the ball. I bowled the first ball to Labuschagne and it spun massively and bounced, ” Ashwin told Sridhar.
Ashwin was quite impactful as he picked up three wickets including the prized scalp of Steve Smith for a duck. He was instrumental in Team India bowling out Australia for just 195 in their first innings and going on to win the MCG test emphatically by eight wickets. Thus it was the masterstroke of Ravi Shastri that worked out well for Team India in the end.
