I’d rather harp on the 20 wickets we took: Shastri believes India played like world No 1 in SA

India head coach Ravi Shastri on Monday admitted that the team had been undone by not playing any practice game in South Africa ahead of the three-Test series, which they are trailing 0-2.

India lost the first Test at Newlands by 72 runs before conceding the series at Centurion by succumbing to a 135-run defeat. Virat Kohli’s men had arrived in South Africa barely a week before the start of the first Test and cancelled a two-day practice match, instead choosing to have more net sessions.

The crunch schedule was caused by the Board of Control for Cricket in India inviting Sri Lanka for a full tour – including Tests, ODIs and T20Is – in November that ended 10 days before the South Africa series was scheduled to begin.

Addressing a press conference ahead of the third Test at the Wanderers starting on Wednesday, Shastri said that the squad should have arrived in South Africa two weeks earlier than it did. “In hindsight, I would say, another 10 days of practice here would have made a difference,” he said.

“Unfortunately the schedule was such that you had matches [right before the tour]. But I’m sure henceforth in the future when itineraries are made, that will be taken into account – where you get there couple of weeks earlier and then prepare,” he added.

Upbeat mood

Shastri said that the mood in the Indian camp was upbeat despite already conceding the series before the third Test, adding that the tourists were looking forward to playing it. “They’ve had chances in both Tests but didn’t make the most of it,” he said. “When you believe you have a chance to win, you look forward to a Test match. When you believe you can’t win, you don’t look forward to a Test match. It’s as simple as that.”

The former India all-rounder admitted that India’s batting had failed on the tour but chose to focus on the bowling. “I would rather focus on the 20 wickets we have taken [in both Tests] because that’s given us a chance to win in both games. No one expected our bowlers to fire the way they did and take 20 wickets. I’d rather harp on that. For me that’s the biggest positive that has come out of this tour. If we had batted better, we might have well won. If our top order can fire [at Wanderers], it will be a good Test.”

Despite the series defeat, Shastri believes India still played like the world No 1 Test team in South Africa. “We had our moments in both Tests when we looked like the No 1 team, when we bowled out South Africa for 130 [at Newlands], when we closed the gap thanks to Virat’s innings and had them two-down just 30 runs ahead [at Centurion]. Not many teams look half that when they come to India,” he said.

Shastri rued the three run-out dismissals in the Indian scorecard at Centurion, saying such errors hurt especially when the conditions are tough. Cheteshwar Pujara was run out in either innings in the second innings, along with Hardik Pandya in the first. Shastri also made it clear that the Indian players have been told not to repeat such errors in the future.

“As it is the conditions are tough, so if you are run out on top of that it hurts, there’s no doubt about that,” Shastri said. “You hope that those mistakes don’t happen again because they are, at times, schoolboy errors which have to be rectified. In tough conditions like this where there isn’t much between the two teams, you cannot afford to give away wickets like that. The boys have been told that.”

Selection calls

The head coach, however, defended India’s contentious selection calls in the series. Ajinkya Rahane, arguably India’s best overseas batsman, hasn’t played at all so far, while the tourists’ best bowler at Newlands, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, was dropped for the Centurion Test.

“When you have choices, that’ll always be the case,” Shastri said. “If Ajinkya had played and not done well, you would have asked me why is Rohit [Sharma] not playing. The same would have happened with the fast bowlers. When you have choices, the team management have discussed what is the best option and they stick by it, they go by it, as simple as that.”

Shastri added that chopping and changing a team is easier overseas compared with back home. “In India you don’t need to chop and change because you know what the conditions are,” he said. “Overseas, you have to go on current form, which player can adapt to certain conditions quicker than the other, what are the overhead conditions for which bowler to play, as opposed to what kind of track you will get – whether you need a bowler with bounce or swing. That’s where the chopping and changing happens.”

The pitch for the third Test at Wanderers has been the talking point ahead of the match, with reports coming in that it is expected to be very green. Shastri confirmed there was grass on the track two days prior to the start of play, but said that was expected.

“We are not here to moan about the tracks because at the start of a Test both teams play on the same surface,” he said. “The good thing though is that people won’t crib and moan when matches in India will get over in two-and-a-half days. Neither will they ask me what kind of track are you playing on. We are not here to complain, we’ve taken 20 wickets [in both matches].”