India’s assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate explained the decision to select Ravichandran Ashwin over Washington Sundar for the second Test in Adelaide. The team believed Ashwin’s experience and pink-ball Test record made him a more potent option on the Adelaide Oval surface.
Australia finished the first day strongly, reaching 86/1 after dismissing India for 180. This marked a significant turnaround after their heavy defeat in the series opener at Perth.
Ten Doeschate acknowledged Sundar’s consistent performance since joining the team. He pointed out Sundar’s contributions during the New Zealand series. The decision to prioritize batting depth influenced the selection for the Adelaide Test.
“Yeah, Washy hasn’t put a foot wrong since he’s come into the fold, halfway through that New Zealand series… I guess the thinking going into the last Test, we wanted to strengthen the batting,” ten Doeschate said at the post-day press conference.

“And given what we saw of Nitish in the first Test, we kind of thought we’d go with what we perceived to be the guys bowling the best spin at the moment. And we feel Ash is more likely to get wickets in these conditions.”
“When you get the confidence of Nitish batting at 7, it doesn’t really matter with Ash batting at 8. And that was the thinking. Not much to choose between them. And we just thought that Ash would be slightly more effective on this wicket,” he added.
Despite Australia’s substantial lead, ten Doeschate remained optimistic about India’s chances. He highlighted the team’s fighting spirit and ability to stage comebacks, as demonstrated in Perth.
“I know that the scores look like there is a big gap between the two teams but we still feel we are in the game and with a few tweaks tomorrow (Saturday), we can get back in the game.”
Ten Doeschate emphasized the team’s inherent resilience and desire to perform well. He expressed confidence in their ability to turn the match around.
“This team doesn’t need the coaches to go into the dressing room and say we need to fight. The guys understand that implicitly and it’s obviously a very proud team who wants to come here and do well.
“We feel slightly behind the game now but there certainly won’t be any letting up and certainly won’t be any surrendering. There certainly is a little bit of swing and a little bit of seam still there. So we’re pretty confident we can still turn it around.”
He reiterated the team’s determination, drawing parallels to their comeback in the Perth Test. He dismissed the notion of surrender.
“At Perth, we got bowled out for 150 and still we got back into that game. This is a proud team and the players want to come here and do well. We may be slightly behind in the game now but there certainly won’t be any surrendering.”
Addressing the question of limited pink-ball experience, ten Doeschate acknowledged the format’s unique challenges. He emphasized the team’s efforts to adapt during the preparation week.
“I just think it’s the nature of it. If you’re going to bring the pink ball into it, it’s obviously great for the crowds. It’s a little bit different for the players and we try to use the week as best we can to help them to adapt to the small differences.
“I don’t think there are huge differences and I certainly don’t think there’s anything to read into about how the guys performed today.
He attributed the cluster of wickets to the nature of pink-ball cricket and Mitchell Starc’s effective bowling. He highlighted the need to learn from the first innings performance.
He added that things happen a bit faster with the pink ball.
“Things happen in clumps, we lost wickets in clumps, which we wanted to avoid. I also thought that Mitchell’s (Starc) stock ball was very good and there are lessons to be learnt from that first innings. We will look at how we can play better in the second innings.”
Ten Doeschate praised the 21-year-old all-rounder Reddy for his resilient innings on the first day. He acknowledged Reddy’s significant contributions in both Perth and Adelaide.
“We are so chuffed with him. From the prep week in Perth, where he looked like he still needed to figure things out, the way he worked in Perth and the game plans he implemented in Perth, to get crucial runs there, I think to get us to 150 in that first game was amazing.
“Just the way he’s gone about his work here. It’s obviously the first pink ball game he’s playing in. There’s still a little bit of work to do. He’s very raw. But for a young kid, a 21-year-old, to come out like that and play three innings of the quality he has, it’s super exciting.
“There’s obviously a chat about Washy not playing. But he’s done everything a young player could do in a very short space of time. And we think he’s got a very high ceiling.”
Ten Doeschate outlined India’s strategy for the second day, emphasizing an aggressive approach in the first session while keeping the overall match situation in mind.
“I think we’ll go as hard as we can in the morning but be slightly conscious of what the rest of the day looks like and what we need to do to get back into the game.”