Ravi Shastri's top 5 moments in charge

This is Ravi Shastri’s 3rd go at running India’s cricket team. From Manager, he became Team Director and finally, he is Head Coach. His first appointment came in the 2007 Bangladesh tour, following a harrowing time in the Cricket World Cup 2007.

His short stint as the manager ended when his contract expired. He had to then wait seven years, during which he covered India’s games in his role as a commentator. He was then appointed as India’s team director in 2014, a role which ended with a spat with Sourav Ganguly, who is a member of the BCCI’s Cricket Advisory Committee.

He was then re-appointed earlier today by that same committee, possibly under captain Virat Kohli’s instructions, and has begun his third innings with the Indian team, this time under the avatar of “Head Coach”. We look at Team India’s greatest achievements in Shastri’s two earlier stints.

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#1 India in Bangladesh, 2007

The 2007 loss to Bangladesh sparked a highly-fought rivalry that India has stayed on the good side of, thanks to Shastri

2007 was a dark year for Indian cricket. Under the captaincy of Rahul Dravid, India crashed and burned out of the 2007 World Cup. The Greg Chappell debacle allowed Shastri to step in, a one-tour only deal as team manager, bringing stability to a team undergoing severe turmoil.

The tour was a resounding success. India won the Test series 1-0, before getting the Bangladeshi monkey off their back by beating the team that knocked them out of the World Cup. It was a short, sharp stint as India coach that brought Indian cricket back from the brink of chaos.

#2 Test win at Lord’s, 2014

The game at Lord’s gave India hope

While the series is now looked back upon with pain and anguish, Shastri’s India gave Indians everywhere hope of beating our once colonial masters on their home soil. They went one up in the 5-match series in the series opener at Lord’s courtesy some brilliant captaincy from someone who was otherwise a very ordinary Test captain.

Perhaps this had to do with the tall, moustachioed man in the backroom.

#3 ODI series win in England, 2014

Indian support in the crowd swelled as India took the series 3-1

With India reeling from a terrible 3-1 loss in the Test series, losing two of the games by an innings, a strong comeback in the ODI series was needed for India to get their mojo back. That’s exactly what the team delivered.

In the One-day series, India trounced England 3-1, setting things up very nicely for the T20I game as a sort of decider. Shastri’s contribution during this ODI series cannot be understated.

#4 2015 Test series win against South Africa

Shastri’s India took revenge for a 1-0 beating when India toured South Africa

When South Africa toured India, they were undefeated away from home for 9 years. Under a hard-nosed Graeme Smith, they had conquered England, Australia, New Zealand and become the world’s top Test team. Now, in 2015, they faced a different challenge. On pithces turning squre from day one, they were vanquished by Shastri’s India in a series that started India’s chain of victories. Since that win, India won their every Test series. They hold the trophies against Australia, Pakistan (this was a long time back), England, West Indies, South Africa, New Zealand, Bangladesh, Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka, all 9 of the Test nations they have played against, and it all started with the series agaisnt South Africa.

#5 T20s vs Australia 2016

Bumrah was a revelation in the 2016 Australia T20 series

India beat Australia 3-0 in three T20s after what had been an especially difficult winter for the Men in Blue, losing 4-1 in the ODIs. Shastri’s inclusion of Bumrah in the team was a tactical masterclass, and the young pacer proved his worth in his debut series Down-Under. The series showed India’s dominance over a full strength Aussie team, a sign of things to come in the teams’ T20 World Cup clash in Mohali.