'Want to Play With Intent, Have to Accept Some Mistakes': Dravid on the Balance of Playing Positively and Being Consistent

Rahul Dravid will be happy as India was able to walk away with the victory in the second Test at Visakhapatnam to level the series 1-1. But the head coach believes that mistakes have to be accepted and highlighted that the young side will be making a few mistakes which leads to the batters not being able to go all the way.

The Indian batting unit barring Yashasvi Jaiswal who scored a double-hundred and Shubman Gill who scored a ton in the second innings were unable to get going despite getting good starts. This has become a point of criticism to the Indian batters.

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To this point, Head coach, Rahul Dravid has responded by accepting the fact that when looking to play with more intent, mistakes are bound to happen which can lead to the batters not being able to go ahead after their starts.

Dravid commented, “I think you have to accept at times when you want people to play a little bit positively, then you have to accept at times that people will make mistakes, right? If you want people to play with a little bit of intent and play a little bit positively, then you’re going to have to accept a few mistakes. And at times people may not be able to convert some of the starts.”

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The lack of big knocks in the Vizag Test left England in the game as they were well in contention of stealing another win with 399 runs to chase down in the second innings with two days to spare. But the Indian bowling attack led by the experience of Jasprit Bumrah and Ravichandran Ashwin was able to show their class and secure the victory for the hosts.

The head coach prioritised the importance of reading the situation of the game and making the right calls when the side is under pressure. Dravid mentioned, “It’s just about reading the game and the game situation. I think it’s about understanding, are we making the right decisions when to put the pressure, or are we recognizing 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? And then is there a moment now to be able to attack and put the pressure on? So I think it’s just that finding that balance.”

The head coach, who was an experienced player at the highest level for India highlighted, “There’s no perfect answer to one particular way to play. You have to also play the conditions. That’s what I personally also do believe in.”

Dravid was honest in admitting that his side was short on some runs and with Yashasvi Jaiswal going on to post his maiden double-hundred, more runs could have been scored in what was a good batting track. He, however, highlighted that the young batting unit is still figuring out the longest format.

“I do feel that we did leave runs on the board here. Again, I think, again, that’s maybe a function of the fact that we do have a lot of young batsmen coming through, I think still figuring out Test cricket a little bit, but you don’t have a lot of time to figure out Test cricket,” said Dravid.

The head coach however emphasised that his side will continue to improve on this aspect as the side will have a break in the Test series with the next game being held in Rajkot on February 15.