Coach Rahul Dravid Blunt Takes on the Final Preparation of WTC
After facing the defeat, India head coach Rahul Dravid expressed disappointment over his responsibilities and also said that things could have been different if they had had three weeks' time to practice.
After the match, Dravid said that he was never going to be happy with the prep as a coach (enough preparation time?) But that's the reality we are faced with. Coming here three weeks earlier, having a practice game would be ideal. But we have to make do with what we can. I don't think we should make excuses.
He further added, "We are getting close (to a drought?). We're getting to the semis, to the final. Just that we haven't played the best cricket on the day. No one wants it more than the players. I can't fault their efforts. "We just haven't played our best cricket on this occasion."
Rahul also criticized the bowling attack of the team for giving away too many runs and stated that The Oval was not a "469 pitch."
Dravid said, "It was obviously difficult (to hit the target). There's always hope, no matter how far we're behind. There have been many tests over the last 2 years where we've fought hard from difficult situations. We needed a big partnership; we had the big players for it, but they had the upper hand. This can happen. It wasn't a 469 pitch. Gave away too many in the last session (on Day 1). We knew what lines and lengths to bowl. Our lengths weren't bad, but we probably bowled too wide. Gave room to Head. Some of the shots we played, maybe we could've been more careful."