Mumbai, Aug 22: The legendary Rahul Dravid acknowledged that sometimes a little bit of luck can heavily impact the outcome of big matches, citing India’s heartbreaking defeat in the ODI World Cup final to Australia and his side’s sensational triumph from a precarious position against South Africa in the T20 World Cup final.
India had stormed into the ODI World Cup final last year with a 10-match winning streak but when the tournament’s best team bumped into Australia in the title clash, nothing worked.
Six months later, skipper Rohit Sharma and Dravid combined to complete the unfinished business. A formidable South Africa stood between them and the trophy but the luck smiled on them.
Having drawn lessons from the incredible highs and lows, Dravid on Wednesday recalled how crucial it was for the team to stick to the clichéd process and hope for luck to favour them against the Proteas at Barbados on June 29.
“I’ve had time to reflect on it. I’ve had time to reflect on a lot of things we’ve done. You do realise, sometimes, you have to do a lot of these things, you have to do the process, you have to do everything right,” Dravid, who was chosen for Life Time Achievement honour during the Ceat Cricket Rating Awards, said.
“Sometimes at the end of the day, you need a little bit of luck. (Against South Africa in T20WC final)… 30 balls to go, 30 runs to go. (It was about) incredible execution, incredible calmness by Rohit.”
“We didn’t focus on what we needed to do, but we needed a guy who could keep his foot within one inch of a line. Sometimes (it is) the skill,” he said without mentioning Suryakumar Yadav’s juggling act at the ropes to complete David Miller’s dismissal.
That catch had tilted the match in India’s favour.
Dravid then recalled how India were close to dismissing Travis Head in the ODI World Cup final but the opener rode on his tremendous luck to come up with a match-winning century, single-handedly crushing a billion hopes.
“(On) 19th November… I remember whatever it was, we beat Travis Head’s bat 15 times — he didn’t touch a single ball. You know, things can go your way sometimes, but you have to stick to the process,” the articulate Dravid circled back to sticking to the basics.
Dravid retired as India’s coach following the title triumph.
Extolling India’s bench strength and the ability to churn out high-quality cricketers consistently, Dravid said the next generation of players have successfully carried forward the legacy of the ‘Fab Five’.
Dravid himself, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Virender Sehwag and VVS Laxman were part of the Fab-five that wowed the cricket fans globally.
“I left in 2011-2012. These players have been able to carry the legacy forward. If you just look at the success that we’ve had over the last 12 years in all the three formats of the game, the time that after we left, it’s been absolutely phenomenal,” he said.
“Very easily, clearly in a lot of the rankings, we’re always (No.) 1 or 2… we’re always up there with anyone. To be able to go out and win that, just the kind of cricket that we play, the level of skill of some of our players, the way that they approach the game, is great,” he said.
Dravid hoped Team India will continue to have success in the coming years.
“I have no doubt that this generation of players, led by people like Rohit and Surya and the (other) guys coming forward in all formats of the game is only going to continue to do that in the future,” he said.
Dravid said while Indian cricketers now are fearless and confident, they also have world-class infrastructure to back their skill sets.
“A lot of them are really fearless. The confidence of a young Indian, and I don’t mean just cricketers, that’s just great. It just gladdens your heart so much.
“The opportunities that young Indians have today. It’s just nowhere in the world. You feel like maybe even growing up at times that you could have your talent and you had abilities, but sometimes you didn’t have the support or the infrastructure to be able to achieve your dreams.”
“Today, none of the Indians can say that. All of them have this great infrastructure, great support and it shows in the way they carry themselves and expect the best out of themselves.
Dravid said the Indian players now see themselves as leaders and that was a great change in the terms of thinking.
“Young India expects they can be world-class, they can be world-leaders, and that is a phenomenal change from the time that I was a young man,” he said. (PTI)
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