Border-Gavaskar Trophy: Ravichandran Ashwin On Ravi Shastri’s Key Move to Revive Team Spirit After 36 All-Out

Veteran off-spinner for India, Ravichandran Ashwin, has recalled how the then head coach Ravi Shastri played a trick to boost the morale of the team after their poor performance in the 2020 Adelaide Test against Australia. This one was a massive low for Indian cricket as they were dismissed for their lowest-ever Test total of 36.

Ravi Shastri Helped Boost Team Spirit

India had 53-run first innings lead, but the batting line-up of the nation failed to put up any fight, leaving Australia with a slight target of 90 runs. Ashwin revealed to Vimal Kumar's YouTube channel and mentioned that the team was down and had almost lost hope about winning the series but Shastri managed to keep their spirits high by taking them out for dinner and arranging a karaoke session, where he could rock the team with Hindi songs.

"We were not thinking about a series win because we were just bowled out for 36," Ashwin said.

"The mood in the dressing room was a bit down. Ravi Bhai organized a team dinner."

“Virat was leaving the team. So, our intention was to be positive, go to Melbourne and win. We didn't think of series, we kept small targets, we took each match individually after that.”

Ravichandran Ashwin Provides An Insight

The team breathed a collective sigh and went into shut-down mode as their lone Australian scalp, Adelaide, got overrun. Ravichandran Ashwin said that even as captain Virat Kohli wanted to leave after the first Test, the team set "small targets" and only focused on doing well in the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne. The change of strategy came in response to the disappointing eight-wicket defeat in the opener of the series at the hands of Australia.

It bounced back superbly from that initial defeat to produce a string of outstanding cricket over the remaining three Tests. Leading on the field was Ajinkya Rahane after Kohli had stepped down, and the performance was outstanding as India secured the series 2-1 with a historic win in Australia. The victory came through a significant upset at the Gabba in Brisbane, marking the first time Australia were defeated there in nearly 32 years, and proving much against the expectations of most people.