Have to reflect on why we aren’t able to bat well in the third innings: Rahul Dravid

Rahul Dravid, the head coach of India, stated on Tuesday (July 5) that his batters’ frequent failures in the third innings of a Test match is a cause for worry and that he will meet with the national selectors to deal with the matter. The Indian side has lost its previous three away Test matches – two in South Africa and the recent one in Birmingham — under Dravid’s coaching.

In the recently concluded game against England at Edgbaston, India failed to defend 378. It was a whopping target, but it looked like a cakewalk for the English batters, who chased down the score very early on the fifth day. India failed to capitalize on the 2-1 lead from last year, which was before the postponement of the series finale, as England levelled the series 2-2.

“There is so much of cricket that we aren’t having any time to reflect. In two days, we will be talking to you about something entirely different. But we will certainly try and reflect on this performance. Every match is a lesson for us and you tend to learn something. We have to reflect on why we aren’t able to bat well in the third innings of a Test match and why we aren’t able to take 10 wickets in the fourth innings,” Dravid stated on the serious matter.

Coaches and selectors would sit down and analyse this defeat: Rahul Dravid

As mentioned above, India lost their previous three Test matches that they played in overseas conditions. They lost two Tests in South Africa as the players failed to defend 240 runs in Johannesburg and 212 in Cape Town, apart from their latest in England where they failed to defend an even bigger total of 378 runs. India’s last six matches in the current World Test Championship cycle will be played on the subcontinent, and Dravid hopes to discuss the team’s deficiencies with Chetan Sharma.

“Now the next six Test matches are in sub-continent (two in Bangladesh and four in India), and our focus will be on those remaining games but obviously, coaches and selectors would sit down and analyse this defeat. That review happens after every game and so when we next travel to SENA land, we are well equipped to deal with it,” he added.