AUS v IND 2020-21: Panesar feels coach Shastri needs to help India overcome Adelaide loss 

Monty Panesar reckons India need to regain a positive mindset if they are to bounce back.

Ravi Shastri | GettyFormer England left-arm spinner Monty Panesar, who had been on multiple challenging tours to Australia, feels Team India shouldn't take the loss in the first Test in Adelaide too "harshly" on themselves and must believe they can make a comeback in the series. 

After taking a 53-run lead at the halfway mark, Indians suffered their worst batting collapse, getting bundled out for just 36, their lowest-ever Test score, and faced a painful 8-wicket defeat. 

Read Also: "India's collapse in Adelaide must have been nightmare for Virat Kohli," Rashid Latif

The mental scars of such a humiliating loss aside, the tourists have multiple injuries, selection issues and also the absence of their captain and premier batsman, Virat Kohli, to contend with before approaching the rest of the tour. 

In these difficult hours, Panesar feels vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane and head coach Ravi Shastri must come to their team's rescue. 

"It (Adelaide Test) is one of those matches when nothing worked as per your plans," Panesar told the Times of India. "The pink-ball Test is the toughest of all. India shouldn't take this so harshly on themselves."

"They should accept the defeat and move on to the second Test. The worrying factor is that when you lose so badly, how do you make a comeback from it? That's the challenge."

"The captain will be Ajinkya Rahane now. He should inject confidence in the team and tell them not to worry. This is the time when the coaching staff, especially Ravi Shastri, should come forward and say 'guys, forget whatever happened, take some rest and let's start afresh'."

"Let's take this Adelaide Test as a one-off Test or warm-up match and forget the result. That's the mindset they should have right now before going ahead in the Test series."

Josh Hazlewood (5/8) and Pat Cummins (4/21) proved largely unplayable at the lengths they hit early on Day 3 with the pink-ball, leaving the batsmen helpless when they were otherwise expected to set-up a historic Indian win. 

"If this was in India, then the scenes (in India) would have been different. Thankfully, the result happened overseas."

Panesar reckons the mindset of the Indian team, especially the batting unit, will be of utmost importance as the conditions are expected to get better for them as the series progresses. 

"The second Test will be played with the red ball. The red ball doesn't move much in comparison to the pink ball (used for D/N encounter in Adelaide). They have three more Tests to play and things might go in India's favour. But, it will all depend on the team's confidence and mindset," he said. 

The next Test will be played in Melbourne from December 26. 

 
 

By Kashish Chadha - 21 Dec, 2020

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