IND v AUS 2020: ‘We have a fabulous five’ – Ravi Shastri confident of India winning the Test series

Indian head coach Ravi Shastri acknowledged that Australia are superior to his team when it comes to pink-ball cricket, but he sounded confident that India’s bowling attack can help them win their second successive Test series Down Under.

Having beaten the Aussies 2-1 in 2018/19, India will look to retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, which starts with a pink-ball Test at the Adelaide Oval on December 17.

While Australia are the pioneers of day-night Tests and have won all 7 of them since 2015, India played their first pink-ball Test only last year against Bangladesh at the Eden Gardens.

Ravi Shastri made no bones of the fact that India trail Australia in terms of pink-ball experience, and he wants his players to just go out and enjoy playing the newest version of the game.

“We begin with pink-ball cricket where we lack experience...We have played just one pink-ball Test, but there is a qualitative difference between them [Bangladesh] and Australia. It is like cheese and chalk. Our boys have not played much of pink-ball in domestic cricket, but I just want them to go and enjoy their game,” Ravi Shastri told Sportstar.

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‘They can beat Australia in their own den,’ says Ravi Shastri

India's 2018/19 Test series win in Australia was their first in 71 years

There has been a lot of talk recently surrounding Virat Kohli coming back to India after the first Test to attend the birth of his first child, and whether his deputy Ajinkya Rahane can bring the same level of inspiration and energy to the table.

Ravi Shastri, though, isn’t worried about Virat Kohli’s absence in the final three Tests. He believes India’s five-pronged pace attack - Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Umesh Yadav, Navdeep Saini and Mohammed Siraj - can give the hosts a run for their money.

“We have a fabulous five...You put up runs on the board and watch these fast bowlers hunt the opposition. They can beat Australia in their own den,” Ravi Shastri explained.

India kickstart their 2020/21 tour of Australia with a 3-match ODI series followed by as many T20Is, before heading on to the 4-Test series.

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