Former head coach Ravi Shastri thinks “complacency” and “overconfidence” brought about India’s debacle in the third Test against Australia.
On a wicket that offered sharp turn from the first morning, the Indian batters gave a very poor account of themselves and that led to a crushing nine-wicket defeat at the hands of Australia.
“This is what a little complacency, a little bit of overconfidence can do where you take things for granted, you drop guard and this game will bring you down,” Shastri told Star Sports.
“I think it was a combination of all these things when you actually cast your mind back to the first innings, see some of the shots played, see some of the over-eagerness to try and dominate in these conditions. You reflect back, take a step back or two to analyse,” he added.
Sunil Gavaskar, Shastri’s former teammate and current colleague in the commentary box, too criticised the Indian batters for their below-par show in Indore, saying the “pitch played on their minds”.
Former Australia opener Matthew Hayden said that it seemed the Indian batters were playing to save their spots in the team.
“Change of team too. KL Rahul dropped. Some of those things can be a bit destabilising, players playing for their spots and their opportunities can create a different mindset,” Hayden said.
Citing Travis Head’s example, Hayden explained how such tough tests can be won in the mind. “It’s incredible what happens when you show that attitude. This can be said about Travis Head. He was left out of the first Test but came out with a fire in the belly from the second Test,” he said.
Written with inputs from PTI
