IND vs SA: We Didn't Play Smart Cricket At Critical Situations – Rahul Dravid After India's 3-0 Defeat In The ODI Series

India head coach Rahul Dravid, while talking about India’s defeat in the three-match ODI series against South Africa said that the team didn’t play smart cricket in critical situations.

South Africa won the three-match ODI series against India by 3-0 by winning the first match by 31 runs, the second match by 7 wickets, and the third and final match by 4 runs.

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After the whitewash, Dravid was asked if India should change the template of safety-first approach while batting in white-ball cricket. Dravid responded:

“We certainly could do better in the middle overs. We understand the template, and a large part of that template is dependent on the balance of your squad. Some of the guys who really help us balance out the squad and give us those all-round options at No. 6, 7 and 8 were not available for the selection. Hopefully, when they come back, it will give us a little more depth, which will allow us to play in a slightly different style.”

Rahul Dravid further added that India should have easily chased the target in two ODI games against South Africa but they were unable to do that because they played some poor shots. He said:

“Having said that, even South Africa who batted first on two occasions scored 290 [296] and 280 [287]. If I think back to the 30th over [of the second innings] in both these games, we should have actually chased them down. We didn’t because we played some poor shots and we didn’t play smart cricket at critical situations.”

Through the middle overs, we need to probably improve our wicket-taking options – Rahul Dravid

Head coach Dravid also feels that the Indian team will have to improve their ability to pick wickets in the middle overs.

“I think through the middle overs we need to probably improve our wicket-taking options, Spinners do play a big role in that but also with the quicks coming back and the kinds of balls we bowl, we have discussed that. We do understand that’s an area in the game we have been behind a little bit – the ability to take wickets through the middle overs – and what we need to do about that.”

Rahul Dravid further added that the team management doesn’t want to make frequent changes in the team and they want to give consistent runs to the players. He asserted:

“That was the whole idea even on this trip, If you see, we didn’t really change the middle order, except Surya got a chance in the last match. Otherwise, we didn’t change the batting order at all. So we want to give them that consistent run and that security. Once you give people that, then you also got to demand performances and really big performances because that’s an expectation when you play at this level for your country.”

Also Read: Every Player Whoever Is Not There In The Team, They Know Why They Are Not There – Ramesh Powar On Omission Of Jemimah, Shikha, Punam From WC Squad

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