India will be heading into the Oval Test on the back of a crushing innings defeat at Headingly, but Ravi Shastri has a clear-cut message to his boys – Remember the good, forget the bad – and that is what the India head coach will be expecting from the team when they face England in the fourth Test starting Thursday.
"It's very easy, you just go back to Lord's. Just think Lord's, forget the last one. As simple as that. I know it's easier said than done but we should remember your good moments as well. Such things happen in the game," Shastri told 'Times Now Navbharat' while promoting his new book 'Stargazing'.
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Weighing on the defeat at Headingly, Shastri admitted that getting bowled out for 78 in the first innings forced India to play catch up for the rest of the game and even though the team showed fight in the second innings, the damage inflicted in the first proved too much for the side to overcome.
"England was in the driver's seat and we snatched victory. In the last Test match, they bowled brilliantly. They caught us on the hop on the very first day of the Test match, they put us on the back foot," Shastri stated.
{{/usCountry}}"England was in the driver's seat and we snatched victory. In the last Test match, they bowled brilliantly. They caught us on the hop on the very first day of the Test match, they put us on the back foot," Shastri stated.
{{/usCountry}}"Even though we showed glimpses of a fight in the second innings, I think that first, you know, early dismissal of our players and getting all out for 78 played its part. But this series is wide open."
India have shown tenacity in the recent past to bounce back from morale-crushing losses to stage famous wins – the series in Australia was a big example. And Shastri reiterated the same, suggestion people not to count India out with two matches to go. The India coach reckons that with the series levelled at 1-1, the pressure is not on India, but on hosts England.
"If anyone thinks that this Indian team is going to back off, they have another thing coming because at 1-1, we are playing overseas, the pressure is on England. They have to win in their own country. We have done what we had to do with them in India. So, the ball is in their court and we will fight, there's no question about it," Shastri added.