CANBERRA: India’s team director Ravi Shastri on Tuesday said that his side’s three consecutive ODI defeats against Australia are a learning curve for youngsters, adding that he hopes they will learn from their mistakes and display a much better performance in the remaining matches.
Backing his side, the 53-year-old insisted that they managed to compete pretty well against the world champions in hard Australian conditions.
“It’s a learning curve. If they learn from their mistakes, they will stop it… It’s a young side. We have three debutants. We have been plagued by injuries. It’s an opportunity for youngsters to learn. In Australia, nothing comes easy. It is one of the hardest places to play, to play against the world champions. The fact that they are competing and they have competed right through this one-day series is itself very good,” Shastri told the media ahead of the fourth ODI in Canberra.
Shastri, however, expressed his disappointment over the defeat and said that his side could have won the Melbourne Test.
“I know where we stand today as far as a Test match team. I am sure the bowlers will learn and we can go places. I am disappointed with the result. Let’s be fair, we could have pulled one back, especially in Melbourne. But didn’t happen and Australia played well,” he added.
The team director stressed that it was extremely difficult for one or two bowlers to bring victory for India and, therefore, called on his bowling department to play as a unit in the remaining two matches.
“The reason why we did well in the World Cup because our all five bowlers fired. When that happens then you have a chance of beating the best side in the world. Obviously they will be disappointed and they have to put their best foot forward,” Shastri said.
Earlier, India lost the five-match ODI series 0-3 following their three-wicket defeat in the third match in Melbourne.
The two sides will now play their fourth match, a dead rubber, in Canberra on Wednesday.