Follow UsYet another knockout game, yet another defeat. The wait for a trophy continues as India ended up on the wrong side in their second consecutive WTC final. While it does get annoying, Indian Head Coach, Rahul Dravid, was clear that his men had given it their all.
"We are getting close, we're getting to semis, to finals. Just that we haven't played the best cricket on the day. No one wants it more than the players. Can't fault their efforts. Just haven't played our best cricket on the occasion."
After starting off strongly, India's bowlers tapered down quickly as Australia managed to post in excess of 300 for the loss of just three wickets at the end of Day 1. Dravid himself was of the opinion that they let the Aussies get away with a bit too much in the first innings.
The early slip-up meant that India were always going to be a step behind Australia. While their batters did come up with a decent rearguard action, it wasn't good enough.
"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."
"The target was obviously difficult. There's always a hope no matter how far we're behind. Many Tests over the last 2 years where we've fought hard from difficult situation. Needed a big partnership, we had the big players for it, but they had the upper hand."
"There was a lot of grass on the wicket, and conditions were cloudy. We've seen in England batting gets easier. There wasn't much help on Day 4 or 5 if you saw. We got them on 70/3, but then let it slip away. Even the last time we played at Edgbaston, pitch got easier to bat and 300-plus was chased."
India's batters will also have to shoulder some of the blame. Despite starts, none of the top 4 batters crossed the 14-run-mark in the first innings. Even in the second innings, all of them started off strongly, only to give it away yet again.
"Our top five are all very experienced. By their own high standards. These same players have won in Australia, in England. This is not upto their high standards."
"Some of the wickets have been quite challenging. This was a good pitch I'll admit. But some of the other places it's been tough. Even in India pitches have been tough. Taking this into account, averages have dropped across the board, not just for us. Nobody wants wickets to turn from the first ball. But when you are playing for points, in situations like that, you have to take risks."
"And we aren't the only ones taking risks. Look at Australia, the pitches there. Sometimes the pressure is on you to get those points in every game. It is a risk we have to take."
Dravid was also not too happy about the prep time they had for the WTC final. Coming in from the IPL, most players had played very littler red-ball cricket in the recent past. On the contrary, the Aussies have been prepping for the last month and a half for their English summer tour.
"Never going to be happy with the prep time as a coach. 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. Don't think we should make excuses."