Mission Melbourne was plotted after 36 all out: R Sridhar
Coach Sridhar says it needed a lot of self-belief and character to script a fairytale story in Australia.
Hyderabad: Fielding coach Ramakrishna Sridhar, who is one of the silent performers behind the scene, said the Mission Melbourne was plotted in Adelaide immediately after the 36 all out in the pink-ball Test. The Indian team had indeed faced many hurdles and obstacles before scripting a historic 2-1 series win over Australia.
The former Hyderabad Ranji player described it as one of the toughest tours, particularly the quarantine rules in Sydney and Brisbane. “We were staying in Hotel and then going to the stadiums but, on the other hand, people were watching the match with beers and without masks. We were treated like circus animals, performed and came back into the cage. Even there was no room service in Brisbane and after protesting on Day 3 the house keeping people came.’’
The spate of injuries had the coaches worried. “It is because of the lack of cricket. The Covid-19 forced many of the players to have restricted practice sessions for five to six months. Playing in that intensity in Australia is always a big challenge. It requires a lot of effort and it showed on some of the players with mental and physical fatigue.’’
Sridhar said that he was a worried man when there were so many dropped catches but at the same time there were brilliant fielding performances like Ajinkya Rahane and Rohit Sharma taking splendid catches. “It was lack of attention to fielding led to a spate of dropped catches. I had to do a lot of homework to look for the reasons by looking at the footage. It happened in white-ball and as well as in red-ball cricket. It happened to other sides also. Of course, we had the pleasure to see the finest fielding display by Ravinder Jadeja, who ran from deep square leg, he picked up with the ball with one hand before hitting the stumps to run out Steve Smith. It was one of the defining moments of the Melbourne Test. ’’
Praising G Hanuma Vihari for his gutsy display in Sydney, Sridhar said the injury brought the best out of him as one needs to concentrate more. “The team backed Vihari to perform well because of his performances in the past. Unfortunately, after the lockdown he could not attain his peak fitness. It was a bit of a letdown for him and for the team. Then he was fielding in the short leg for the best part of the three Tests and there was not much of movement. So his hamstring injury was because of multiple factors. It happened at a crucial time but this came handy as a resolute Vihari, along with Ashwin, defied the Aussies in that epic stand in Sydney. The Day 5 gave us the belief and confidence for Brisbane.’’
Sridhar pointed out Mohammed Siraj was a shattered man after he lost his father. “Vihari and I were talking to him all the time to make sure that he was eating properly because we were all in quarantine. We had to interact with him through video calls as we could not go out of the rooms because of the strict police vigil. Credit to Siraj for taking things in his stride magnificently and we told him his father’s blessings will always be there with him. It goes on to show the mental toughness of Siraj.’’he coach said from 36 all out it needed a lot of self-belief and character to script a fairytale story. “There is no end to the superlatives. It is a great lesson for negative set of people, never write off anybody.’’
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