Former coach Ravi Shastri lashes out at India's display: 'You take things for granted'

Former Indian head coach Ravi Shastri was critical of the Indian cricket team’s performance in the recently concluded third Test of the Border Gavaskar Trophy 2023. India suffered a humiliating nine-wicket loss in the 3rd Test at the Holkar Stadium in Indore, as Australia earned their first victory of the series. Speaking on the live broadcast by Star Sports, after the match, Shastri mentioned that the Indian cricket team took things for granted in Indore.

“This is what a little complacency, a little bit of overconfidence can do where you take things for granted, you drop guard and this game will bring you down," Shastri said in the commentary after Australia marched to victory in the first hour of Day 3’s play. "I think it was a combination of all these things when you actually cast your mind back to the first innings, see some of the shots played, see some of the over-eagerness to try and dominate in these conditions. You reflect back, take a step back or two to analyse," the former India coach added.

What went wrong for Team India?

The home side led the series by 2-0 ahead of the third Test, with two mammoth victories in Nagpur and Delhi. In the first Test, India bowled out Australia for 91 runs in their second innings. In the second Test, the Aussies got dismantled with the score of 113 runs. However, in the third Test, India found themselves on the losing side after getting bowled out for 109 and 163 runs in both their innings respectively.

Meanwhile, replying to Shastri’s comments on air, Matthew Hayden also shed his thoughts on the surprise win for Australia in spinning conditions. The Australian cricket legend spoke about the changes made by India in playing XI for the match. He also mentioned how Travis Head’s selection in the Australian playing XI helped the team turn their fortunes around.

"Change of team too. KL Rahul dropped. Some of those things can be a bit destabilising, players playing for their spots and their opportunities can create a different mindset. This can be said about Travis Head. He was left out of the first Test but came out with a fire in the belly from the second Test, something Australians are known for. Punching above our weight, in spite of the conditions," Hayden said. With the win, Australia sealed their spot in the ICC WTC final.