Just moments after his side’s comprehensive defeat that made Australia WTC Champions, Rahul Dravid was in familiar company. He was joined by former teammates Sourav Ganguly and Harbhajan Singh. Just like in the old days, The Wall put his bat out defending whatever came his way. However, after the IND vs AUS Oval Test, it was not deliveries but questions that Dravid blocked out in the wake of India’s WTC Final defeat.
In a post-match interview that soon turned into a grilling session, Rahul Dravid fronted some tough questions as India faltered in their second consecutive WTC Final. In the 18 months into his tenure, the Indian head coach has more losses to show than crucial wins heading into the final few months of his tenure.
Also Read: IND vs AUS Highlights: India SURRENDER to Aussie dominance, lose consecutive WTC Final by 209 runs
‘It wasn’t a 469 wicket’
Sourav Ganguly, the man who appointed Rahul Dravid as head coach during his time as BCCI president, was at his brutal best. Dada questioned India’s decision to bowl first, which eventually saw them chasing the game as Australia took complete control. Ganguly knows a thing or two about bowling first in ICC finals, with his India side batted out of the game in the 2003 World Cup Final. Dravid was part of the team, which lost the final to Australia.
Dravid held his ground and maintained that the decision at the toss was the correct one. He said, “We were happy bowling first. The conditions in England make it easy to bat later in the Test. Teams have chased down totals here, England chased down 380 against us last year. We did a good job till Australia was 70/3, but lost our line a bit. It wasn’t a 469 wicket, maybe 300 was par.”
Despite the big target, Dravid hoped that the team could put up a fight. India needed 280 runs on the final day but folded cheaply, with Scott Boland leading a 7/55 collapse.
“We had hope that however behind we were, we could’ve shown more fight but we knew we needed exceptional performances,” the head coach chimed in.
‘Little time to prepare, but no excuse’
India arrived in England with very little red ball preparation due to the IPL. The IPL 2023 Final was played for more than 36 hours due to rain delays, meaning the entire squad was only available for a week together. India trained at the Arundel Cricket Club for a few days, before shifting their base to The Oval for the game.
“As a coach, for me, no preparation is enough. The schedules are very tight. We hardly got a few weeks of preparation after the IPL, plus there weren’t any tour games. I’m not here to complain, many congratulations to Australia. No excuses, no complaints, just we look at ourselves and improve as a team and correct mistakes,” Dravid said in response to the team’s preparations.
Former India spinner Harbhajan Singh also did not spare his former captain. For a man who took 417 wickets with his off-spin, he decided to brandish a sharp bouncer as a broadcaster. Bhajji questioned India’s tactics on playing on rank turners at home with the batsmen quite short on runs. Dravid agreed to his assessment and added that ‘nobody’ wants wickets that turn from Day 1.
“I think nobody wants wickets to turn from the first ball and turn square. As you get to the back end of it, everyone wants to have turns. Australia also used to play on wickets where the wickets get lost in three to four days. When you play on conditions like this, they can go variably. I agree that some wickets in India were difficult,” he said.
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