Ravi Shastri is back at the helm of affairs in the Indian cricket team after being appointed as the head coach by the Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC), comprising Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman and Sourav Ganguly, on 11 July.
After Anil Kumble resigned from the post ahead of India’s tour of West Indies, due to differences with the captain Virat Kohli and a few members of the side, it’s only fitting for the CAC to bring back Shastri, who had a pretty successful stint as the Indian team director from August 2014 to March 2016.
The former India player led India to many memorable victories during that time and hopefully, he will be able to continue from where he left off.
Here’s a look at some of the highlights from Shastri’s tenure as team director.
1. ODI Series Win in England
India started off on a high in Ravi Shastri’s first assignment as the Indian team director. After losing 3-1 in the Test series, the Men in Blue bounced back with a 3-1 victory in the 5-match ODI series.
After the first ODI was abandoned owing to rain, the Indians recorded convincing victories in the next three ODIs. They won by 133 runs, 6 wickets and 9 wickets respectively.
But, in the last ODI, Joe Root’s century helped England beat India by 41 runs.
2. First Test Series Win in SL After 22 Years
India scripted history in August-September 2015, when they won their first Test series in Sri Lanka in 22 years. And that too, after losing the first Test by 63 runs.
The away team needed just 176 runs for victory in the second innings, but were bundled out for 112 runs.
The responsibility on Ravi Shastri’s shoulders had gone up because there was no head coach in the team any more. Duncan Fletcher’s contract as the head coach ended after the 2015 World Cup.
In the next two Tests, India raised the bar and did not give any opportunities to the Sri Lankans to get close to victory. It was the first time that India overturned a 0-1 deficit in a Test series away from home.
India won the next two Tests by 278 runs and 117 runs, respectively.
3. India Whitewash Australia
Whitewashed Australia 3-0 in a T20 series in Australia in January 2016. Do I need to say more? It was one of the most clinical performances by any Indian team, away from home.
As usual, the batsmen led the way with a total of above 180 in every match and the bowlers played their role to perfection.
Virat Kohli, who scored three fifties in each of the three matches, top-scored in the series with 199 runs.
India won the first, second and third T20 by 37 runs, 27 runs and 7 wickets respectively.
4. Decent Test Series in Australia
India regained the tag of ‘poor travellers’ after a string of bad performances away from home since the tour of England in 2011. And here they were on their way to Australia in 2014/15.
And guess what? India were well and truly on their way to lose 0-4 yet again in Australia, when they lost the first two Tests by 48 runs and 4 wickets, respectively.
In the next two Tests, India managed to put on a bit more runs – courtesy Virat Kohli’s centuries in each Test – and held the Australians to a draw. The Indians scrapped out 0-2 loss in the series, which was a good result, given the track record (away from home) of the Indian team in the recent years.
Murali Vijay, Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane had a tour to remember with the bat. Kohli finished as the second highest scorer in the series with 692 runs.
5. Asia Cup Victory
India continued their good form in the Asia Cup, which was played in February-March 2016. They won all their matches comfortably against all opponents (5 matches), except for arch-rivals Pakistan.
After bundling Pakistan out for just 83 runs, it should have been an easy run chase for India, but Mohammad Amir made things interesting when he sent Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma and Suresh Raina back by the third over. India were reduced to 8/3.
Then Virat Kohli and Yuvraj Singh strung a very important partnership of 68 runs, which helped India win by 5 wickets.
India clinched the title after beating Bangladesh by 8 wickets in the final.
Also Read: Ravi Shastri’s No “Yes Man”, Has Best Attributes to be India Coach
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