Team’s grit and determination made me feel really proud as a coach, says Ravi Shastri

Despite the lopsided scoreline of 4-1 in England’s favour, both the teams fought tooth and nail to produce one of the best series in the recent memory. While India's top five averaged 32.95 against England's 28.55, India's overall control percentage in the series was 78.35, as opposed to England's 76.86. The series was evenly fought and it was India’s failure to seize the key moments that eventually proved to be the difference. While many might choose to hit the rock bottom looking at the scoreline, Shastri is not the one to be panicked and instead he decided to take the positives from the tour.

“It was a tough tour. And tough lessons to be learned. Deep down we know in every Test match barring Lord's we had our chances. Lord's we lost and Nottingham we won. In the other three Tests, we had our chances big time. We came close, but could not close the deal. We have addressed what has to be done next time around. We have discussed matters. At the end of a tough trip like this, I think you can hold your head high because you have competed all the way. The opposition knows it, the British public knows it, and we know it. The Indian fans and the Indian public know it, too. So there are plenty of positives to take away, but it is time now to address why we have come so close and cannot get past the finishing line, and we have discussed that,” Shastri told ESPN Cricinfo.

India had also lost 1-2 to South Africa before this Test series but the biggest positive was India’s pace bowling unit, which not only proved to be a menace but was actually better than their English counterparts. Ishant Sharma extracted the highest amount of swing among the bowlers of both teams and Jasprit Bumrah was relentless in his accuracy. 

“India got much better as a bowling unit. I was pleasantly surprised to read in one of the UK newspapers which said if there was a composite side picked, the four fast bowlers would be three Indians (Ishant Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami) and Anderson. That was the ultimate compliment you can get.”

Though Ravi Shastri, ahead of their tour to England, had stated that the team wouldn’t give any excuse for their performance, he ended up giving numerous ones throughout the series, hiding behind the line - “it is not an excuse.” Keeping the trend alive, he gave one more during the Cricinfo interview as well with the same line being repeated. 

“As far as batting goes, it was tough for both sides. When the ball moves around so much and it seams, I don't care who the batsman is, it is going to be tough. You need your share of luck. And when you weigh the factors - every time India batted it had to be cloudy, every time England batted the sun was out. But that is not an excuse. I'm just saying very clearly that a moving Dukes ball will test anybody. So it took us time, but we got better at it as the series went on. As opposed to guys who are born and bred on these who still struggled all the way. That is the reality, which should be accepted.”