I Give The Most Credit To Coach Ravi Shastri: Ramiz Raja On Team India's Triumph For The Ages In Australia

Former Pakistan captain-turned commentator Ramiz Raja has heaped high praise on Indian head coach Ravi Shastri following the Ajinkya Rahane-led units heist for the ages against Australia last month.

After suffering the ignominy of registering their lowest-ever total in their Test history in the first Test at the Adelaide Oval, Team India went on to script a triumph for the ages despite the absence of regular skipper and superstar batsman Virat Kohli and a whole host of injuries to their first-choice cricketers that continued to plague them throughout the Test series.

The comeback started with a clinical eight-wicket win in the Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground where stand-in skipper Ajinkya Rahane scored a brilliant hundred and the bowling attack dismissed Australia for 195 and 200.

Then in Sydney, the visitors pulled off a miraculous draw after they batted for 131 overs on the final day thanks to the grit of Cheteshwar Pujara, the flamboyance of Rishabh Pant, and the unrelenting resilience of the injured due of Hanuma Vihari (tear-2 hamstring) and Ravichandran Ashwin (back spasm).

The biggest miracle happed at the ‘Gabbatoir’ in Brisbane where a young Team India punched above their weight to register the highest-ever successful run-chase of 328 thanks again to the grit of Pujara and the flamboyance of Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant.

According to Ramiz Raja, a lot of credit must go to head coach Ravi Shastri behind India’s triumph for creating a buoyant dressing room atmosphere despite the shambles of Adelaide and the absence of superstar cricketers.

“I give the most credit to coach Ravi Shastri because brain trust comes under pressure after getting all out for 36,” Ramiz Raja said on Waheed Khan’s Youtube show ‘Cricket Baaz’

“To lift up the team at that time, and when superstars are also not available, still creating an environment in the dressing room that we are not less than any teams, and then also explaining the situation to the players, is not easy. The new players that came also performed really well,” he added.

Also Read: There Are Times When Strike Rate Hardly Matters: Cheteshwar Pujara