Last Update on: June 11th, 2023 at 07:15 pm
Indian head coach Rahul Dravid addressed the loss after his side suffered a massive 209-run defeat against Australia in the final of the ICC World Test Championship (WTC). He highlighted the key points that cost India the game but admitted that they played poor cricket and shouldn’t make excuses.
The wait for the ICC Trophy continued for India as they yet again succumbed to the pressure and lost the final of the major event. It’s fair to say that they were extremely poor with both bat and ball and didn’t live up to the expectations.
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Both blasted magnificent centuries and took Australia to a total of 469 runs. With India, it was expected that they would get close to the target but they batted poorly and were bundled out for just 296 runs. It only was possible due to the vital knocks from Ajinkya Rahane (89), Shardul Thakur (51), and Ravindra Jadeja (48).
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With a lead of 173 runs on the offer, Australia again had a decent outing with the bat as they batted well and set the target of 444 runs to chase. India came out with a positive intent but it was a horrendous outing for them on Day 5 as they lost 7 wickets in the first session and were bowled out for just 234 runs to lose the game by 209 runs.
Rahul Dravid pointed out that they conceded too many runs in the first innings as it wasn’t a 469 pitch. He opened up about India’s decision to bowl and said that the green pitch tempted them to field first. Speaking to Star Sports, he said:
“It was obviously difficult (the target). There’s always a hope no matter how far we’re behind. Many Tests over the last 2 years where we’ve fought hard from difficult situation. Needed a big partnership, we had the big players for it, but they had the upper hand. This can happen. It wasn’t a 469 pitch. Gave away too many in the last session (on Day 1). We knew what lines and lengths to bowl. Our lengths weren’t bad but we probably bowled too wide. Gave room to Head.
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“Some of the shots we played, maybe we could’ve been more careful. There was a lot of grass on the wicket, and conditions were cloudy (decision to bowl?). We’ve seen in England batting gets easier. There wasn’t much help on Day 4 or 5 if you saw. We got them on 70/3, but then let it slip away. Even the last time we played at Edgbaston, pitch got easier to bat. 300-plus was chased. Our top five are all very experienced (batting not performing?). By their own high standards. These same players have won in Australia, in England. This is not upto their high standards.”
WTC Final: “Never going to be happy with the prep as a coach,” says Rahul Dravid
Rahul Dravid also talked about the pitches for Test cricket and said that they are close to winning the trophy. He admitted that they haven’t been able to play good cricket on a particular day. He explained:
“Some of the wickets have been quite challenging. This was a good pitch I’ll admit. But some of the other places it’s been tough. Even in India pitches have been tough. Taking this into account, averages have dropped across the board, not just for us. Nobody wants wickets to turn from the first ball.
But when you are playing for points, in situations like that, you have to take risks. And we aren’t the only ones taking risks. Look at Australia, the pitches there. Sometimes the pressure is on you to get those points in every game. It is a risk we have to take. We are getting close (trophy drought?). We’re getting to semis, to final. Just that we haven’t played the best cricket on the day. No one wants it more than the players. Can’t fault their efforts.”
India didn’t get the desired time to prepare for the ICC WTC Final. They were involved in a two-month-long IPL and then rushed to the UK for the game with just a week to prepare. Rahul Dravid said that he wasn’t happy with the preparations and a practice game would’ve been great for them. He explained:
“Just haven’t played our best cricket on the occasion. Never going to be happy with the prep as a coach (enough preparation time?) . But that’s the reality we are faced with. Coming here three weeks earlier, having a practice game would be ideal. But we have to make do with what we can. Don’t think we should make excuses.” He concluded.
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