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The Rahul Dravid era has kicked off sensationally as Team India registered back-to-back series wins against New Zealand. After taking over the reins from Ravi Shastri, Dravid has stamped his authority on the team within no time. The former India coach had some ups and downs when he was in charge of the ‘Men in Blue’ and guided them to series wins both in India and overseas, however, he has now opened up on the lowest point in his four-year tenure.
"See, the coach is in the firing line; there is no choice. That is the quirk of the job. You have to be ready from day one. I knew there would be no escape routes. The 36 all out was the lowest point. "We had nine wickets in hand (overnight) and then we were bundled out for 36. All that had to be done was score to 80-odd more runs (to be in the game). We were all numb. We were in a state of shock for days. How could that have happened?,” the former India coach said in an interview with ‘The Week’.
"It was not just me. I would be the first to put my hand up and say I was the one responsible, take the brickbats; there is no place to hide. I told the boys to focus on what they could do. The boys were unbelievable. One month after that 36 all out, on January 19, we had won the series. I am still thinking, how did that happen? I promise, as long as I live, people will talk about that series win,” 59-year-old Shastri added.
India can still have happy memories from that tour as Shastri’s men came from behind to beat Australia in that series. After losing the Adelaide Test and being 1-0 down, Ajinkya Rahane led India to win the Boxing Day Test followed by a draw in Sydney and the series winner at the iconic Gabba, Brisbane to win the series 2-1.
It was a ‘so close, yet so far’ era for Shastri as the silverware eluded the Indian team despite making it to the final of the inaugural World Test Championship (WTC) and semi-finals of 2019 ODI World Cup. The only notable multinational tournament success for Shastri came in 2018 as his team won the Asia Cup T20 under Rohit Sharma’s stewardship.
