Visakhapatnam, Feb 6:
India Head Coach Rahul Dravid on Monday lauded Yashasvi Jaiswal, Jasprit Bumrah and a bit more of a team performance over days three and four to help India beat England in the second Test and square the five-match series.
“Yashasvi’s brilliant innings, 209 in that first innings. And then Bumrah’s spell really on the first two days kept us or got us ahead by 140. And then, we needed a bit more of a team performance over days three and four to get us over the line,” he told reporters in a post-match presser here.
India rode on the brilliance of Bumrah, Jaiswal and Shubman Gill to clinch a fantastic victory over the visitors.
Admitting the pressure India were in the game, Dravid said, “We were put under pressure at various times, but I think a couple of individual brilliance kept us in the game in the first couple of days,” Dravid said.
Dravid, however, commented that India weren’t truly dominating the game at any stage and that the team conceded good positions, especially with the bat.
“I don’t think we were in any position at any stage in this game to ever think about putting pressure back on the opposition,” Dravid says.
“So I think more than that [forcing the play], I think after we lost the first couple of wickets, we soaked the pressure well to get that partnership, but we couldn’t just capitalise on it enough.” “If we had got to tea at 250 for 4 instead of 230 for 6, we were 210 for 4 I think, and you just start getting comfortable and then you lose a couple of wickets and you’re thinking, ‘oh’.” The head coach also said that, like in Hyderabad, India did not get as many runs as they wanted to.
“At times, people may not be able to convert some of the starts, but for us, for me, it’s not so much about, it’s just about reading the game and the game situation,” the former Indian No.3 said.
“I think it’s about understanding whether are we making the right decisions when to put the pressure, or are we recognising that this is a moment where we need to soak in the pressure a little bit and maybe be a little bit more conservative rather than attack all out? I do feel that we did leave runs on the board here again.” With the win, India rose in the ICC World Test Championship 2023-25 table to the second position and a win percentage of 52.77 per cent, just behind Australia (55 per cent) at No. 1.
Backing wicketkeeper K.S. Bharat despite his poor show with his bat, Dravid said he is not disappointed with him and youngsters need time to develop.
“Disappointed is a strong word. I would not use the word disappointed, to be honest. Young players need time to develop. They are growing at their own pace. As a coach, you want young players who come into the side to grab the opportunities and perform,” Dravid said.
“Bharat’s wicketkeeping has been good but could have done better as a batsman. His keeping, to be honest in both the Tests, has been really good. With his batting, I am sure he will agree he could certainly have done better,” Dravid said.
