Ravi Shastri feels pressure will be on Australia in pink-ball Test after losing series opener against India

Former Indian head coach Ravi Shastri believes the pressure will be on Australia in the pink-ball Test after they suffered a huge loss of 295 runs in the series opener at the Optus Stadium, Perth. 

Meanwhile, India was bundled out for a paltry score of 36 runs in the pink-ball Test at Adelaide on the 2020-21 tour, which is their lowest score in Test cricket history. Shastri said that 36 all-out won’t play any role but India should not forget that things can quickly change in the pink-ball Test.

“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. You realize 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,” Ravi Shastri said on ICC Review.

Shastri, who has all the experience under his belt, said he never saw so much of playing and nicking as India was skittled out in one session.

“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. 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.”

After their loss at Adelaide Oval, India hasn’t lost a Test match on the Australia shores and they have won three out of the last four Test matches while playing Downunder. 

The second Test match between Australia and India, which will be a pink-ball game, will be played at Adelaide Oval from December 6 onwards.