India beat Australia in the first Test at Adelaide Oval and their coach’s interview goes viral
India’s coach set social media alight with his vulgar comments on live TV after victory in Adelaide. Meanwhile, Justin Langer’s been slammed by some cricket greats and the Indian media’s take.
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India coach Ravi Shastri set social media alight with his on-air comments shortly after his side secured victory against Australia in the first Test in Adelaide.
Speaking to Sunil Gavaskar, Michael Clarke and Mark Butcher on Indian TV, Shastri delivered a somewhat unique take on the dramatic last day of play which saw Australia fall just 31-runs short of the 323 target.
“We will not spare them at all but we had balls in our mouth for a short time there,” he said in Hindi.
While Gavaskar said he would not translate the expression for his colleagues because their show was watched by families, it took social media users no time at all to clarify what had been said.
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I am reliably informed that Shastri has described (on Sony's broadcast) the nervous feeling of watching the end of this Test as like having his "balls in his mouth". I believe it's a saying. #AUSvIND
— Melinda Farrell (@melindafarrell) December 10, 2018
India captain Virat Kohli meanwhile was a little more constructive in his analysis of the team’s performance saying it’s not hard to be humble because a “special” first Test win over Australia isn’t perfect in every way.
While delighted to have won the opening Test of a series in Australia for the first time in a dozen attempts, Kohli is demanding improvement on the Adelaide triumph which, he says, merely sets a platform for the four-match series.
Pujara won the man of the match. But Ravi Shastri took all the attention with his "muh me goti". #AusvIndia #AUSvIND
— Chaithu (@chaithu_budati) December 10, 2018
Ravi Shastri just gave us the line by which we will remember this tour for years. #GotiMooMeinTha
— Malay Desai (@MalayD) December 10, 2018
Ravi Shastri is GOAT.
— Vipul Goyal (@HumorouslyVipul) December 10, 2018
Yes India has won a Test in Adelaide but for the last 10 mins, I haven't stopped wondering in half laugh, half shock at Shastri's comment. Whattay.
— Nikhil ðŸ (@CricCrazyNIKS) December 10, 2018
I cannot believe Ravi Shastri actually said "thodi der ke liye goti mooh mein tha " on national television!
— Anu Menon (@ExLolaKutty) December 10, 2018
🤣
“We have never taken the lead in a series in Australia ... that for us is a huge, huge boost,” Kohli said.
“And it has given us the right momentum that we needed to play a big series like this ... it’s a very special feeling.
“But having never done it in Australia before, to take the lead first up, it’s obviously a very, very good achievement ... and something we are very looking forward to build on.”
In his column for the Times of India, Bharat Sundaresan lauded the result as an almighty team effort making it standout of from India’s memorable wins from the past. This one was different. There was no iconic moment, it was not a “hero-centric victory” nor, he writes, was it “a very typical away Indian victory”.
“There was no dramatic comeback. There was no epochal coming of age for anyone in particular. No new hero was born. India didn’t have any significant odds that they had to overcome either, but just their opposition. Perhaps for the first time, India started a Test in Australia as the hunters and not the hunted.
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“Maybe that’s what this Adelaide Test will be remembered and celebrated for. For how cerebral India were. For how they stalked their victims with unrelenting intensity but with unwavering focus. For how they went for the kill once they smelt blood. For how an Indian team came Down Under and defeated an Australian team for the first time ever in the opening Test of a series and it didn’t surprise anyone. They were simply that good.
“Even though they (Australia) did come close to an extent, there was no realistic chance of them pulling off a surprise win. You somehow just knew this Indian team wouldn’t have let that happen. And it’s this belief that they managed to create over the last five days that the Adelaide victory will be remembered for.
India, hunting their maiden Test series win in Australia after 11 fruitless tours spread across almost 71 years, now hold a 1-0 lead in the four-match showdown after nervously turning the screws in Adelaide.
And while plenty has been written about the performances of players from both sides, former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly has taken aim at Justin Langer for his comments about Kohli.
Earlier in the Test the Australian coach suggested that Kohli’s celebrations at the Oval were over the top and that if any player from the his side had celebrated in a similar manner, they would be branded as ‘worst blokes’ in aftermath of the ball tampering scandal in South Africa.
Speaking to on Indian TV, Ganguly said: “I would like to say one thing to Justin Langer. He should watch old footage of Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath or Jason Gillespie from India’s previous tours to Australia and then say something.”
His view was reinforced by Indian cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar who said that if Langer was attempting to garner some sympathy for his players he was not going about things the right way.
“Virat Kohli only celebrates with intensity and I see nothing wrong in that. Why is it that Australian cricket has a bad name? Because they would abuse and celebrate. Let [Justin] Langer say what he wants to. He is going to get no sympathy for that.”
INDIA HAVE MORE DEMONS TO FIGHT
Editorial in The Hindu meanwhile says it’s one down for India but plenty more demons to banish in Australia.Refusing to get too excited about the victory a comment piece titled “Firing hopes of a larger turnaround” reads:
With this Adelaide Test firmly in their grip, Kohli and his talented squad have demolished one bogey. The larger goal now should be to rectify the other glaring anomaly: the failure to swing a Test series in Australia, a tour which inevitably demands the very best from visiting teams. The current visit is India’s 12th Test tour of Australia; during its previous sojourns, only in three series were draws secured. The rest were lost.
Elsewhere more clear cut praise for India with victory described by Arnab Sen of the Hindustan Times describing the win as “a true reflection of Virat and Co’s strength’s and weaknesses”.
After a year of intense scrutiny, the result was one laden with positives for the visitors.
“As Nathan Lyon and Josh Hazlewood kept bringing the number of runs required down, brick by brick, the tension and anxiety was palpable in the Indian dressing room and on the faces of the players in the field. It was difficult to be an Indian cricket fan on Monday morning. Too many close defeats already this year and the team and its support base needed this one to go their way.
“Relief for the Kohli-Shastri combo, whose every move and statement has been scrutinised over the past year. While the duo has been erratic and, dare I say, autocratic in their decision making at times, no one can take away from them the fact that they have an infectious zest to see this team reach the zenith of world cricket.”
However, Sen highlights two areas of concern going into Friday’s Test in Perth:
“Opening has been a big worry for India for some time and the arduous tours to South Africa, England and now Australia have exposed the plight like never before. KL Rahul and Murali Vijay showed some fight in the second innings but India needs its openers to lay solid platforms and the likes of Vijay, Rahul and the sidelined Shikhar Dhawan have failed miserably in the tough tours.
“The other area of discomfort would be the sudden collapse in the second innings. India were in a position from where they could have batted Australia out of the match. But the lower order failed to keep its wits together and caved in instead. Such collapses, especially in the fourth innings, have denied India crucial wins, even while chasing smallish targets and batting coach Sanjay Bangar has his work out with the tail before things heat up in Perth.”
Originally published as India beat Australia in the first Test at Adelaide Oval and their coach’s interview goes viral
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