WTC Final: Dravid backs decision to bowl first after disappointing loss at Oval, says conditions prompted us

Looking at the overhead conditions and the pitch underneath, Rohit Sharma’s call to bowl first after winning the toss brought a smile to almost every Indian cricket fan’s face. Less they knew it could become the reason for their second straight loss in World Test Championship Final. After India suffered the same fate as the last time, head coach Rahul Dravid addressed the issue.

Speaking to his former teammates Sourav Ganguly and Harbhajan Singh after the match, Dravid said the conditions prompted them to take that call, as after Australia got reduced to 76 for three at one stage, everything looked like following in place.

“In the [first] morning, there was a lot of grass, the overhead conditions were cloudy, and, in England, we felt batting gets easier – even on the fourth and fifth day, there wasn’t much happening,” Dravid said. “Lot of teams win the toss and field. At 70 [76] for 3, we felt it was a good decision, but the complexion of the game changed in the two sessions after that.

“Had we restricted them to 300-odd, it would’ve been a good score, we would’ve still been in the game, and it would’ve been a tight third and fourth inning. It’s one of those things in England,” the head coach added.

Meanwhile, a 285-run partnership between Travis Head and Steve Smith in the first inning drifted the game away from India. Courtesy of that stand, Australia piled up 469 and had their noses in front in this one-off Test from day one.

“It wasn’t a 469 wicket,” Dravid said. “On the first day, last session, conceding 157 [for no wicket] was disappointing. We knew the lines and lengths we needed to bowl; the lengths weren’t bad, but we went wide with our lines, gave a lot of room to Travis Head, he capitalised, and we fell behind.”

The same players did the job before

The road to WTC Final 2023 wasn’t easy for India as they had to beat a few top teams in their backyard. With most of the players who succeeded in those conditions were playing in this match, Dravid said they needed a good partnership on day five, something that didn’t happen, and India fell on the other side of things.

The former India captain opined that the team didn’t lose heart despite playing the chasing game.

“Yesterday, I felt on this wicket, we played three-four shots, we could’ve been a bit careful,” Dravid said. “It was tough, [but] there was hope. However far behind you are, you always fight. In the two years, we’ve had situations where we’ve been behind but have made comebacks.

“The good thing was we were behind for two days in this Test but didn’t give up and fought well. We needed an exceptional performance, a big partnership [on the final day]. We had the players, but they [Australia] had the upper hand, they bowled well, got a couple of wickets and it can happen,” Dravid added.