IND vs WI: Rahul Dravid Comes At Defensive Mode After Brutal Scrutiny Over Decision-Making In Yet Another ICC Final, Blames Conditions For Game-Changing Decisions

Last Update on: June 12th, 2023 at 11:07 am

Rahul Dravid, the head coach of India, justified his team’s decision to bowl first against Australia in the World Test Championship final, claiming that the decision was made because of the pitch’s grass and the cloudy weather.

In yet another forgettable World Test Championship final, Team India lost to Australia at The Oval by a score of 209 runs. India opened the fifth and final Test day at 164/3 and lost all seven of its wickets in the first session. Chasing a 444-run mark, India was bowled out for only 234.

Sourav Ganguly, who provided commentary during the WTC Final, gave some challenging questions to Dravid. Dravid reacted when Ganguly questioned him about the reasoning behind choosing to bowl first by noting that it was not about “handling pressure.”

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“We decided to bowl first in the Test match because the conditions were overcast and there was quite a lot of grass on the pitch, So, we thought that it would get easier to bat on later in the pitch and that was the same case here also. Most teams in recent times have opted to field first in England,” Rahul Dravid said.

“We thought that it was a great decision when Aussies were at 70/3 and then we leaked a lot of runs in the next two sessions. Even if we would have gotten them out by 300, we would have been in the game. We could have had a chance in the fourth innings,” Rahul Dravid added.

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“We could’ve shown more fight”- Rahul Dravid

India’s head coach, Rahul Dravid, said that his team’s bowling performance after winning the toss was subpar. Dravid said the team was confident of chasing down a 300-plus target in the fourth innings.

“We had hoped that however behind we were, we could’ve shown more fight but we knew we needed exceptional performances. It was not a 469-run wicket. We gave away a lot of runs — bowling was disappointing. We played some poor shots yesterday,” Rahul Dravid said.

Also Read: IND vs WI: Sunil Gavaskar Lashes Out At Rahul Dravid-Led Indian Team Management After WTC Final Loss, Questions Lack Of Coaching Level

Indian batters made a solid start in the final innings but failed to turn it into a successful outcome on Day 5 of the WTC final. Australia defeated India by 209 runs.