India’s head coach Rahul Dravid hasn’t had the best of starts to his coaching career with the Indian team as the Men in Blue have lost three overseas tests in a row under his management. One common mistake that was noted in all three failures was India’s inability to score in the 3rd innings and their inability to defend the target in the fourth innings of a Test.
Head coach Rahul Dravid on Tuesday said the repeated failures of his batters in the ‘third’ innings of a Test match is a matter of concern and they will sit with the national selectors to address the issue.
“There is so much of cricket that we aren’t having any time to reflect. In two days, we will be talking to you about something entirely different,” Dravid said, referring to the T20 International series starting in less than 48 hours.
“But we will certainly try and reflect on this performance. Every match is a lesson for us and you tend to learn something. We have to reflect on why we aren’t able to bat well in the third innings of a Test match and why we aren’t able to take 10 wickets in the fourth innings,” he said.
India failed to defend a whopping 378-run target in the just-concluded game against England India scored 266 in their second innings in Johannesburg,198 in Cape Town and 245 in Birmingham, which has been effectively the third innings of a Test match. In all these three games, India failed to defend targets like 240, 212 and now 378.
Rahul Dravid explains why India benched R Ashwin
Indian management is often criticised for not playing veteran spinner R Ashwin in overseas tests. Ashwin did not play a single test in the five-match series despite doing well in County cricket in the past.
Indian coach Rahul Dravid defended his team’s selection as he claimed that the conditions did not warrant a second spinner.
“It’s not easy to leave someone like Ash out in a Test match but when we looked at the wicket on the first day, it had a pretty even covering of grass, and we felt that there was enough in it for the fast bowlers,” Dravid explained the team’s position.
Highlights:
• Rahul Dravid addresses the concerns with the Indian test team after a historic loss against England.
• Dravid explains why Ashwin was dropped from the fifth test.
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