IND vs SL: "It Looked Like A Really Good Wicket" - Rahul Dravid Supports The Idea To Bowl First

India head coach Rahul Dravid justified his team’s decision to bowl first in the second T20I, claiming that there was a lot of dew near the conclusion of the game and that such decisions could not be made just on the basis of previous numbers.

After being put into bat, Sri Lanka put on 206 for 6, while India fell to 57 for 5, eventually losing by 16 runs.

India lost by 16 runs against Sri Lanka in the second Twenty20 International in Pune, with touring skipper Dasun Shanaka named Player of the Match following a brilliant performance with bat and ball. The finale takes place on Thursday in Rajkot.

Bowling discipline was scrutinized in the defeat at the MCA Stadium, with wides and no-balls contributing to a Sri Lankan score of 206/6. Suryakumar Yadav (51 from 36 balls) and Axar Patel (65 from 31 balls) contributed to India’s early struggles with the bat, leaving them at 34/4.

“I honestly think the decision was fine”: Rahul Dravid

Before Thursday, teams batting first have won 34 games at the MCA Stadium in all T20s, compared to 29 victories by the chasing teams. Dasun Shanaka, the captain of Sri Lanka, made a similar observation after losing the toss and stated that he was already planning to bat first.

Dravid countered that the pitch was favourable for batting and that it wasn’t a bad idea to bowl first because a dew was predicted for the second half.

“The amount of dew there was at the back end… it’s just that we lost a few wickets in the chase If we had a few wickets in hand, I think we would have… we got close already. But there was a lot of dew,” Rahul Dravid said at the press conference.

“You cannot go on past history. To be honest, it seemed like a really nice wicket, and it continued that way throughout. It helped the quick bowlers a little if you pitched it in the appropriate locations with the new ball,” Rahul Dravid Added.

“Aside from that, I thought it was a terrific wicket. They played well to reach 207 [206], but we made numerous errors with the ball. And despite losing so many wickets, we ran them quite close”

“It was difficult at the back end because they couldn’t bowl their spinners since the ball was so wet. I honestly believe the decision was sound. We would have had the proper result if we could have done somewhat better in a couple of aspects of the game,” Rahul Dravid Further Added.

Sri Lanka won the second T20I by 16 runs and the 3-match T20I series was levelled at 1-1.

Also Read: IND vs SL: India Set An Unwanted Record With Seven No-Balls Against Sri Lanka In Pune