Haren
India’s head coach Rahul Dravid believes the adaptability shown by the team right through the T20 World Cup in different conditions since the Super 8 stage began would come handy in the final against South Africa on Saturday. After starting their Super 8 campaign at Bridgetown, Barbados, India returned to the island after stop overs in Antigua, St Lucia and Guyana for their third ICC final in a year across all three formats.
Having overcome England in the semi-final at Providence on Thursday, India reached Bridgetown later in the day. “Just the fact that we played a game in Barbados is nice. It’s nice that we have that familiarity there of having played on that surface in the past,” Dravid said. “We’re not going to get exactly the same wicket that we got last time. It can be different. And I think what’s really important and I think what we’ve done really well as a group this whole tournament is we have shown the ability to adapt, to recognize what is a good score,” he added.
Despite playing on slow surfaces, India have shown aggressive intent, which has helped them end up with above par totals in each of the last four matches. “We played very differently in New York, than we played at St. Lucia. Then we played in Barbados in the first game, I thought that the wicket was quite slow. But again, for a final, we are not really sure what we are going to come up against. And I’m just hoping that whatever we come up against, we will have the ability to recognize it and to be able to play accordingly, as we’ve done in the last three games,” Dravid said.
India’s Jasprit Bumrah, third from right, is congratulated by teammates after taking the wicket of Ireland’s Harry Tector during an ICC Men’s T20 World Cup cricket match at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in Westbury, New York, Wednesday, June 5, 2024. (AP/PTI)
With just one day gap in between, India didn’t have any practice session on the eve of the final. But Dravid asserted that the team is ready for their title clash against South Africa. “It’s just about ensuring that physically, mentally, tactically we are ready for the game. Those are the things that we can control – that we are fresh, that we have looked after all our niggles if there are any, we have done all our tactical preparation and they are mentally relaxed and excited and looking forward to the game and try and get ourselves in the right frame of mind,” Dravid said.
For Dravid, the final against South Africa is one final chance to lay hands on a World Cup title which has eluded him since his playing career. Even as a coach, he came close twice before losing to Australia in the finals. At the last year’s 50-over World Cup on home soil, they remained unbeaten till the final – same as this T20 World Cup – before Australia aced the conditions at Ahmedabad.
Asked what were the lessons from that final, Dravid said, “nothing,” before elaborating. “I thought we were very well prepared for that final as well. I thought we were very well prepared in Ahmedabad. We’ve done all the things, we’ve ticked all the boxes and, on the day, the other team played better and that’s part of the sport. The other team that is coming there to play has also obviously reached the final, because they’re a good team and they’re playing very good cricket as well. So, they have as much right to win it as we do. But we hope that we will play better cricket on the day,” Dravid said.
Three ICC finals
As far as making three successive ICC finals Dravid said it is a testimony to the team’s consistency. “For many years, especially in the last year, like you said, being number one in all three formats, playing in the finals, is a good thing. It gives a lot of credit to the boys, a lot of boys who are Test cricketers, who are our one-day players and also our T20 players. So, Indian cricket has shown a lot of consistency and it is a very happy thing. If we play well and if we have the rub of the green, then we will win,” Dravid said.
Get latest updates on T20 World Cup along with live score updates for all matches.
