New Delhi, Sep 2: Team India will be heading into the Oval Test on the back of a humiliating innings defeat in Leeds, but head coach Ravi Shastri has shared a clear-cut message to the Virat Kohli-led side – “Just think Lord’s, forget the last one”.
The penultimate Test began on Thursday, with the series locked at 1-1.
“It’s very easy, you just go back to Lord’s. Just think Lord’s, forget the last one. As simple as that. I know it’s easier said than done but we should remember your good moments as well. Such things happen in the game,” Shastri was quoted as saying by ‘Times Now Navbharat’.
Shastri further admitted that getting bowled out for 78 in the first innings of the third Test against England forced India to play catch up for the rest of the game and even though the team showed some fight in the second innings, the damage inflicted in the first proved too much for the side to overcome.
“In the last Test match, they bowled brilliantly. They caught us on the hop on the very first day of the Test match, they put us on the back foot,” said Shastri. “Even though we showed glimpses of a fight in the second innings, I think that first, you know, early dismissal of our players and getting all out for 78 played its part. But this series is wide open.”
Shastri also opened up on the reports of the alleged rift between Kohli and Rohit Sharma.
Shastri asserted that there was never any rift between the two star cricketers. According to the reports, there was a rift between the Team India skipper and opener Rohit but this news was never confirmed.
“I never saw it. So, when people used to ask me like this, I say what you have seen I have not seen. The co-ordination has always been there. I have never seen it affecting the team. If I see an effect in the team, I will say on Virat or Rohit’s face that this is not on and you have to look at things differently. But not once have I seen it impacting the team from day 1. I am a person who says what I want,” he added. (IANS)
