England vs India 2018: More than England, it was Sam Curran who hurt us - Ravi Shastri

Initially, the batting line-up of England looked rock solid on the paper with each player having their mark on the game. But, surprisingly, India managed to rattle their defence for the cheap scores. However, Sam Curran has the other ideas on his mind and Ravi Shastri is blown away with the youngster heroics.

Sam Curran took away the game from India at Edgbaston with his stunning half-century when Indian bowlers are wrecking havoc in the middle. And also, he was the one, who gave support to England at Southampton as well. Meanwhile, he also delivered with the ball as well.

Me and Virat Kohli picked Sam Curran as the man of the series – Ravi Shastri

Ravi Shastri wants to give the credit when there is a due. He strongly believes that the Indian team lost to Sam Curran, not against England. He explained a couple of scenarios in which Sam Curran bailed his team out from all sorts of troubles.

Unlike every time, England asked the opposition team to name the man of the series. Without any ray of thought, Indians opted for Sam Curran for his heroics at Edgbaston and Southampton which changed the things for England.

“I would not say (we) failed badly. But we tried. We must give credit where it is due. Virat and I were asked to pick the Man of the Series (for England) and we both picked Sam Curran. Look where Curran has scored, and, that is where he hurt us. More than England, it was Curran who hurt us,” Shastri told ESPN Cricinfo in an interview.

“In the first Test, England were 87 for 7 (in the second innings) at Edgbaston, he (Curran) got the runs. In the fourth Test, they were 86 for 6 (first innings) in Southampton, he got the runs. We were 50 for 0 (first innings) at Edgbaston, he got the wickets. So at crucial stages in this series, he chipped in with runs and wickets. That was the difference between the two sides,” Shastri explained.

India is still the number 1 side – Ravi Shastri

Ravi Shastri is confident that the England team knew how well Indians have fought for the victory and also added that the media of either country know the fact that how well India tried to bag the series.

“We are still the No 1 team in the world. And England knows how well we fought. Their media knows how well we fought. Our fans know how well we fought. Their public knows how well we fought. We know inside how well we fought,” he added.

However, as Ravi Shastri said, India fought really well to bag the series. But, the failure in capitalising the moments dented Team India badly thus ending up on the wrong side of the things.