Ravi Shastri's 'strong piece of advice' for Australia; 'Save English manners for Ashes'

Former India coach Ravi Shastri has come up with some strong words for the Australian cricket team that is currently touring India for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. This comes a day before India will face the Aussies in the second Test match of the series in Delhi. Speaking to Sydney Morning Herald, the former India coach suggested the Australian team needs to get their act together, suggesting they should get rid of the timid behavior.

"I want to start off with a strong piece of advice for the Australian team. Save the English manners for the Ashes. What you need are good old Australian manners here in India to bounce back from the defeat in Nagpur,” Shastri told the Sydney Morning Herald. "I want to see them come out and be their aggressive selves in Delhi. To back their ability and play with intent. I was surprised by the lack of it, especially in that second innings, where they were rolled for 91. If you lose, go down throwing punches. Not in the timid, almost un-Australian, fashion that they surrendered against the Indian spinners at the VCA Stadium,” he added.

"The possibility of a 3-0 or even a 4-0 series defeat looms large"

During the series opener in Nagpur, India restricted Australia to 177/10 in the first innings, as Ravindra Jadeja returned with a five-wicket haul. Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj grabbed a wicket-a-piece, while R Ashwin registered three dismissals. India then scored 400 runs in the second innings with captain Rohit Sharma scoring a maximum of 120 runs. 

Left-handed allrounders Axar Patel and Ravindra Jadeja contributed with knocks of 84 runs and 70 runs respectively. Meanwhile, in the third innings, the Aussies collapsed on a total of 91 runs, courtesy of Ashwin’s fifer and Jadeja’s three-wicket haul. Shastri mentioned that Australia needs to recover from the loss right away.

“But the punch has to be thrown immediately, and they need to hit India hard from the very start in Delhi. If Australia don't get at India right away, the possibility of a 3-0 or even a 4-0 series defeat looms large,” former India coach Shastri explained. The 2nd Test between India and Australia is scheduled to begin on February 17.