Team India’s woes in the World Test Championship final continued as they suffered a disheartening 209-run defeat against Australia at The Oval. In pursuit of a challenging target of 444 runs, India’s batting lineup crumbled, getting bowled out for a mere 234. The collapse began when Virat Kohli attempted to chase a wide delivery from Scott Boland, resulting in a catch for Steve Smith at slips. The remaining six wickets fell rapidly, with the team losing all of them within the opening session of the fifth and final day.
After the disappointing loss, India’s head coach Rahul Dravid faced scrutiny from former cricketers and his former teammates Sourav Ganguly and Harbhajan Singh. The trio discussed various factors that contributed to the defeat. Ganguly highlighted the struggles of India’s batters in recent years, emphasizing concerns over their batting averages.
Ganguly noted that very few batters have managed to maintain an average above 30 in the past couple of years, indicating the need to rework the batting order. However, Dravid explained that the competitive nature of the World Test Championship and the presence of result-oriented pitches have affected players’ averages worldwide, not just in India.
“Our top 5 batsmen are highly experienced. These players are considered legends. They won series in Australia and England. They are talented players. But I accept that they, and I’m sure they will agree too, didn’t live up to the high standards they set for themselves,” Dravid expressed during a conversation with Ganguly on Star Sports.
“We are working on it. Some wickets have been extremely challenging. I admit this was a good wicket, but there were many unfavorable conditions for batting. In the WTC cycle, every match is crucial. We can’t play for a draw anymore. India has difficult wickets, and even away from home, we encounter result-oriented pitches. So, all players’ averages have taken a hit, not just ours.
“However, we understand the importance of putting runs on the board to give our bowlers a chance. That’s what we used to do.”
After the interview, the broadcast shifted to Sunil Gavaskar, who was preparing for a separate segment. When asked for his opinion on Dravid’s explanation for the falling batting averages, Gavaskar became visibly upset and insisted that Dravid should focus on his own team.
“It doesn’t matter what other players’ averages are. We are discussing the Indian team here. It’s the Indian players’ averages that are declining, and we need to address that. Batting is where the problems lie. We need to understand why this is happening. They perform well in India, but some falter outside,” Gavaskar passionately stated on Star Sports.
“Is the coaching not up to the mark? Is there insufficient analysis of our weaknesses? Honest self-assessment is absolutely necessary after this. One team wins, and the other loses. It’s the manner of the loss that stings. We have also faced defeats and felt miserable. You can’t say that the current players are beyond criticism. We need to analyze what transpired out there. Was our approach right? Was our team selection appropriate? We can’t sweep this under the rug,” Gavaskar added firmly.