Ravi Shastri reveals how India turned the tide from Adelaide in the last iteration of BGT

As India gears up for the second Test of the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy, a new challenge looms large for Rohit Sharma and company. The last time these two teams met at Adelaide, things went downtown for the visitors and from thereon it was a sensational turnaround of affairs and India crafted history at the end of the series.

Things are different this time, though, as India has started the five-match series with a thumping win at Perth. India’s former coach, Ravi Shastri revealed what really went behind the scenes and how he egged the team on from the lowest point to a mountain inconceivable.

Talking on the ICC Review, Ravi Shastri opened up on the fact what kind of psychological impact the last game at the venue might have on India’s minds. Shastri said, ‘I don't think it will play any role but it should be at the back of their mind because you know things happen very quickly with a pink ball.”

He also shed some light on the humdinger watershed, adding, “You realise that in a session of play if things don't go your way and the bowling is good, things can happen rapidly. Now the fact that they are one up should put them in a really great frame of mind going ahead in this Test match because I think it's a massive opportunity for India to tighten the screws further. The pressure will be on Australia.”

Shastri then revealed how he stoked the Indian cricket team to fight back from there, adding, “See, what we did after that 36 was - like I said at that time - that I'd never seen, and I said it in the dressing room, I'd never seen so much of playing and nicking as opposed to playing and missing.”

He continued, “And I'd watched cricket for about 40 years. And to be honest, that was a session where hardly any player played and missed. If he did anything, he got a nick. So it was not beating the bat. You know, the bowlers’ [being] unlucky … it was just the batsmen being unlucky on that day.”

The former Indian cricketer also highlighted the luck factor, stating, “In my mind, it was very clear you can't do worse than that [Adelaide]. You'll have a day when the luck is in your favour and you can bounce back. And that's exactly what happened.”

He concluded by stating, “Sometimes you don't overthink when something as drastic as that happens. You don't want a knee-jerk reaction taking place where you just lose the plot. Sometimes calmness in situations like that produce the best results.”