If only India had more practice days
No excuses, says Shastri, but a bit more training may have helped us
India cricket coach Ravi Shastri gave new meaning to the idea of hindsight being an exact science when he admitted they needed more time to acclimatise to South African conditions. India only have pride to play for in the third Test, which starts on Wednesday at the Wanderers. India arrived in SA towards the end of 2017 and opted not to have a practice match ahead of the first Test in Cape Town. It was a Test India lost by 72 runs as they failed to cope with the unusually trampoline bounce and exaggerated movement offered by the normally placid Newlands surface. The 135-run defeat in the second Test at SuperSport Park seemed to hit the visitors more emotionally than the first as SA adapted to conditions more suited to India. SuperSport Park did not provide too much in terms of pace, bounce and movement, but SA’s pacemen, led by Lungi Ngidi, proved to be the difference. Shastri said they had been more competitive in SA than the Proteas were when they lost three of four Tests on their...
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