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Team India head coach Rahul Dravid admitted that the management had a tough time putting an XI together for the Rajkot ODI due to a viral in the camp coupled with the fact that some players had left for home.
India had only 13 players to choose from heading into the final ODI against Rajkot. While opener Shubman Gill was rested, the trio of Hardik Pandya, Mohammed Shami, and Shardul Thakur had gone back home. Ishan Kishan was also ruled out of the match due to illness.
The Men in Blue looked out of sorts in the Rajkot ODI against Australia on Wednesday, going down by 66 runs. Speaking after the game, Dravid opened up on the problems the team faced going into the match.
“We have had a few issues with a bit of viral going around the group. It was a bit tough; it was a bit of a balancing act especially in this game because there were a few guys who had to go home for some personal reasons. There was also the team that was leaving for the Asian Games tonight, so Rutu [Ruturaj Gaikwad] and Tilak [Varma] had to join that team. There was a bit of jugglery that we had to manage,” he admitted.
The head coach, however, is confident that the entire squad will assemble in Guwahati ahead of their World Cup 2023 warm-up match against England on Saturday.
“We’ve got a few days. I am expecting everyone to be there at Guwahati when we reach tomorrow, latest by tomorrow night or 29th early morning. It should be the full squad and the full strength. Hopefully, the bug that’s there around the group should have cleared up as well. It would be nice if that happens,” he stated.
After the practice game against England, India will play their second warm-up match against the Netherlands in Thiruvananthapuram on October 3.
“I think we gave away 30-40 runs too many” - Dravid reflects on Rajkot loss
India had a tough time on the field in the Rajkot ODI. Bowling first, they conceded 352/7 and were then held to 286. According to Dravid, the Men in Blue conceded 30-40 runs too many with the ball.
“When Australia batted, we managed to pull things back towards the end. Overall, I think we gave away 30-40 runs too many. It was a bit much for this ground and this wicket,” he said.
While the bowlers struggled, India got off to a confident start, with skipper Rohit Sharma (81 off 57) and Virat Kohli (56 off 61) playing good knocks. However, Dravid opined that at least one batter needed to score a big hundred for India to get close to Australia’s total.
“Things were looking good until Rohit got out. The wicket also got slow after that. After the ball got old, it started sticking on the pitch. It was a bit difficult but if that partnership had been bigger, we could have got closer,” Dravid stated.
“We probably knew that we needed one of the top three to get us a 130-140. In these kind of chases, you need that kind of scores. Unfortunately, it didn’t happen. The good thing is that both of them batted well. But it became tougher as the game went on. The Australians bowled a lot of cutters, slower ones,” the Indian legend concluded.
Glenn Maxwell claimed 4/40 as India slipped from 144/1 to 286 all out in a chase of 353 in Rajkot.
