Prepare to play ugly and show character: Shastri

He said that despite tough conditions, need of the hour is to show resolve and play gritty cricket. England leads the five-match series 2-0 after winning the first two Tests in Birmingham and Lord’s. “Conditions have been tough right through this series. But that’s where character and discipline come into play. The resolve to know where your off stump is, leave a lot of balls, be prepared to look ugly and dirty and show some grit,” said Shastri.

“I don’t think it’s fair to single out any one player,” he added, when asked about Ajinkya Rahane’s struggles on this tour. “Batsmen from both teams have struggled. When the occasion demands, it’s a case of mental resolve – how you put mind over matter. Mental discipline will be the key as far as batsmen are concerned going forward in this Test match. Rahane is one of our pillars and he will remain so.”

There is some good news ahead of the must-win Test for India. Skipper Virat Kohli is near full fitness ahead of the game as he batted without any discomfort and also took slip catching. Jasprit Bumrah, R Ashwin and Hardik Pandya have already been declared fit for the game. India will be looking to find the optimal combination for the game, and the coach admitted that it had made a mistake going with an extra spinner at Lord’s.

“Kohli is feeling much better. You saw him in the nets – he is moving much better and improving by the day. In hindsight, it (picking second spinner) was an error. We should have gone, seeing the conditions, with an extra seamer. It might have helped. Then again, you didn’t know how much it would rain, whether a match could go into the final day where just in case a second spinner is needed and the ball starts to turn, would we have needed him?”

“But in hindsight, the way things panned out, the amount it rained, the time we lost, a seamer could have been a better option,” said Shastri. He said that the team knows how to stop England from the winning the series because it has been in this position before. “Just believe in yourself,” he said, when asked what he has told the team post defeat at Lord’s. “It can happen to any side.You have been in this position couple of times before and you have responded. One thing for sure in this unit, there is no negative bone, wanting to play to win, as simple as that.”