Coach Shastri down with Covid, team fights back on field to set up a thrilling finish at Oval
LONDON: India head cricket coach Ravi Shastri is isolating along with three other members of the tourists’ backroom team after his lateral flow test returned positive for Covid-19 on Saturday.
A statement from the Board of Control for Cricket in India said all four “shall remain in the team hotel and not travel” until the results of the RT-PCR test are known.
Helped by a pair of 50s by Shardul Thakur and Rishabh Pant, India managed to score 466 in their second innings, setting England a target of 368 in the fourth test at The Oval. England were 77 for no loss at the end of the fourth day of play.
India resumed play on the fourth day on 270-3 and with a lead of 171 runs. England had earlier eked out a 99-run lead after the first innings.
The series is locked at 1-1 with one more test to come, at Old Trafford starting next week.
MUMBAI: The Indian cricket team had anxious moments at the start of Day 4 in the Oval Test on Sunday. There were even doubts whether the Test could continue after head coach Ravi Shastri’s Covid positive result, confirmed by a lateral flow test done the previous evening.
The match could only go ahead after all squad members returned negative following a second lateral flow test on Sunday morning, according to a BCCI statement. The players underwent one such test on Saturday evening as well, after Shastri’s positive result. Bowling coach Bharat Arun, fielding coach R Sridhar and physio Nitin Patel, deemed as close contacts, remained isolated in the team hotel. Batting coach Vikram Rathour was present in the dressing room. Yogesh Parmar is the other physio.
Patel even attended to Cheteshwar Pujara during play on Saturday after he twisted his ankle.
The players and other members of the contingent were allowed to go to the ground as none was deemed a close contact of Shastri. As per UK govt guidelines, a person is considered a close contact “if he has been within 2m of someone who has tested positive for more than 15 minutes or if he may have travelled in the same vehicle.” This series is being played with relatively relaxed guidelines. No biosecure bubbles have been created and players have been allowed to go to restaurants.
The Indian team had attended Shastri’s book launch function before the Oval Test where outsiders were allowed to mingle freely with the players.