India coach Ravi Shastri said that his team will not complain about the pitch and the conditions which they have been offered but said that in hindsight, another 10 days of practice would have made a lot of difference. “We are not here to moan about the tracks because like I said at the start of the game both teams play on the same surface. The good thing though is people won’t crib and moan when matches in India get over in two and a half days. Neither will they ask me what kind of track are you playing on. In hindsight, I would say another ten days of practice here would have made a difference. But that’s no excuse. The pitch we play on, it’s the same for both sides and I would rather focus on the 20 wickets we have tae, it will be a good test match.” said Shastri, addressing the media on Monday.
Shastri added that it is something which will be taken care of in the future tours, “Unfortunately, the schedule was such that you had matches. But am sure henceforth in the future when itineraries are made that will be taken into account, there is absolutely no doubt about that. You get there couple of weeks earlier and prepare.” he added.The Indian coach rued his team’s missed opportunities where they let the chance to put South Africa under pressure slip but was hopeful of a good showing in the final Test. “They have had chances in both test matches but they didn’t make the most of it, so when you believe you have a chance to win then you look forward to a test match. when you don’t believe you can win you don’t look forward to a test match, as simple as that.”
Shastri defended the decisions made by the team management, saying the team sticks by the decision it makes. “Chopping and changing overseas is easier. In India, you don’t need to chop and change because you know what the conditions are. Overseas, you go on current form and you go on conditions and you see which player can adapt to certain conditions quicker than the other. What are the overhead conditions for which bowler to play as opposed to what kind of track you will get, where you need a bowler with bounce or you need a bowler with swing. So that’s where the chopping and changing starts”
“That will always be the case. If Ajinkya had played first, and not done well, you would have asked me the same question, why Rohit hasn’t played. Rohit played, he didn’t do well, you are asking me Ajinkya didn’t play. the same would have happened with the fast bowlers. So when you have choices, the team management has discussed what is the best option and they stick by it they go by it.” Shastri added, when asked about the decision to drop Rahane and pick Rohit in the middle order.
He heaped praise on the performance of the bowlers and said that they were many times when his team looked like the no.1 team, “Our bowlers did a great job. I mean no one expected our bowlers to fire the way they did and take 20 wickets so I rather harp on that because for me that’s the biggest positive that has come out of this tour. We are here to live and learn from our mistakes and like I said that is the most positive. Even our top order, we go in with six batsmen, five batsmen and an all-rounder, so it means that responsibility on both sides on the top order is that much more. so you have to gust it out, it wont be easy.” Shastri said.
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