Batters missed out in first innings: Rahul Dravid

HYDERABAD, January 28

India’s failure to make the most of perfect batting conditions in their first innings cost them the opening Test against England, head coach Rahul Dravid said today.

“It was always going to be challenging to chase 230 on a fourth-day wicket which was turning,” Dravid said. “I thought we probably had 70 runs less on the board in the first innings when conditions were pretty good to bat in on Day 2.”

It’s one of those games where you... come out and give your best and if somebody does something exceptional, you shake his hand and congratulate him. And for me that is important. Rahul Dravid, India coach

To come here to India, toughest place as a batter and put in a winning performance, it’s head and shoulders above the rest. Ollie Pope, player of the match

Yashasvi Jaiswal (80), KL Rahul (86) and Ravindra Jadeja (87) missed out on hundreds while Axar Patel and Srikar Bharat fell short of fifties. “I thought in those kinds of situations we got ourselves into some good starts but we did not truly capitalise,” former India captain Dravid said. “So in some ways, we left those 70-80 runs back in the first innings... I’m a little bit more disappointed with our first innings.”

While Pope provided a masterclass in how to play spin using his feet and frequently playing the sweep and scoop shots, several India batters looked ill at ease against the turning ball. Dravid attributed it to their lack of First-Class exposure. “A lot of these guys play a lot of white-ball cricket and don’t get a lot of time to play First-Class cricket. But they are learning, they are getting there,” he said.

Dravid heaped praise on Pope’s stellar knock, which he felt made all the difference. “It’s one of those games where you... come out and give your best and if somebody does something exceptional, you shake his hand and congratulate him,” Dravid said. — Reuters

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