Rahul Dravid said India have been remarkably consistent, playing three ICC finals in the last 12 months and the outgoing head coach hopes a combination of smart cricket and luck will lead his side to the ICC title. India have been a much better team in the ongoing T20 World Cup, just like they were in last year’s home ODI World Cup, where they faltered at the final hurdle against Australia. Now, Rohit and Co will face South Africa in the summit match at the Kensington Oval, hoping to win a global title after their triumph in the 2013 Champions Trophy.
Dravid, who is trying to end his tenure on a high note, said, “It is a good thing that we are consistently playing good cricket. We have reached the finals of all three formats and credit goes to the players. If we play well and get success, we will definitely win.”
When the trophy is at stake, players feel more pressure than usual.
But there is not much India can do in terms of mental preparation as there is only a gap of one day between the semi-finals and the final.
The team left for Barbados soon after the semi-final against England in Guyana, but Dravid said India are mentally prepared for the match.
“In terms of our preparation, we only have one day in between, so it’s unlikely we’ll practise.”
“It’s about all the players making sure we are physically, mentally and tactically ready for the game.”
Dravid stressed on his team’s preparations for the final match.
“These are the things we can control, that we are fresh, that we have looked at all our shortcomings, if there were any. We have done all our tactical preparations and we are mentally calm and excited and looking forward to the game.”
“We will try and do that in the next 24 hours and try and get ourselves in the right mindset to play that match,” the former India captain added.
India lost the WTC final and the ODI World Cup final to Australia in 2023. Has he learnt any lessons from those heartbreaking defeats? “No, nothing. I thought our preparation in Ahmedabad (ODI World Cup) was very good. We ticked all the boxes and the other team performed better on the day. It’s all part of the game.”
He said, “The other team coming to play there has also obviously reached the final because they are a good team and they are 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 that day.”
In their first match of the Super 8s, India managed to score 181 against Afghanistan despite the pitch being on the up and difficult to play on.
Dravid said that he wants to continue this knowledge in the match against South Africa as well.
“Yeah, I mean, just the fact that we have played a game in Barbados is good. It’s good that we have the experience of playing on that surface in the past.
“But again, I think it’s very difficult… we’re not going to get exactly the same wicket as we got last time. I mean, it might be different, right?” Dravid emphasised the work done by the team as a group before coming into the showpiece and lauded their adaptation skills.
“I think the most important thing is that we have performed very well as a group. Throughout this tournament we have shown the ability to adapt, to recognise what a good score is. We played very differently in New York, then we played in St Lucia, then we played in Barbados as well, when I felt the game was quite slow.
“I am just hoping that whatever challenge we face, we will be able to recognise it and play accordingly, like we have done in the last three games,” Dravid said.
He was pointing to India’s ability to post better scores on difficult surfaces, including the semi-final in Guyana where they managed to score 171 on a low-bounce surface.
South Africa managed to break their long-standing jinx of not being part of the semi-finals in the World Cup and Dravid said it will not be a burden on the Proteas.
“Not really, I mean the same players have been playing since 1991 and a lot of players come and go. I don’t think it really matters. I can’t speak for them. But I don’t think players carry the burden of their past.
Similarly, Dravid said the Indian players have the ability to move on from last year’s Ahmedabad debacle.
“Players are very good at recognising things and moving on from them. So, we will move on from Ahmedabad. I am sure they will not be thinking about history. It will be a new day.”
“Two good teams, two teams which I think everyone will agree will be the top two teams in this tournament. So, both teams deserve to be in the final. And, hopefully, it will be a great game of cricket. Hopefully, we will be on the right side,” Dravid said.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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