WELLINGTON: The sour taste of a 10-wicket loss to New Zealand in the first Test had been a good lesson for India’s cricketers and there was no doubt they would be far more competitive in the second in Christchurch starting today, coach Ravi Shastri said.
The visitors had won their previous seven International Cricket Council World Test Championship matches to lead the standings on 360 points before they were hammered at the Basin Reserve.
Shastri, however, said his side had learned a lot about how New Zealand would bowl to them at Hagley Oval and the sting of defeat was on their minds as they look to level the two-match series.
“We were outplayed in the first Test but I always believe that a shake-up like that is good. It opens your mindset,” Shastri told reporters in Christchurch yesterday.
Tasted
“If you have not tasted defeat you can have a closed or fixed mindset. Here, when you see what has happened, it is good, it gives you opportunities to learn.
“You know what New Zealand are doing and what to expect. It’s a good lesson and the boys are up for the challenge.”