Dravid says India timed declaration well after falling 1 wicket short of victory in 1st Test vs NZ
With all the ebbs and flow of a Test match, when a bowling team comes as close to winning as India did on the Day 5 of the Kanpur Test, the spotlight automatically shifts to the declaration. It’s a tricky decision, and the team needs to time it well to maximize their chances of winning.
In the Kanpur Test, the Kiwis were nine wickets down, and more than 100 runs away from the target in the last half hour of the fifth day. So the questions were raised over India’s approach in the final session of the fourth day, where Wriddhiman Saha and Axar Patel had a 67-run partnership in 20.4 overs, and India eventually declared without any real acceleration.
India’s head coach Rahul Dravid defended the decision saying that those runs were extremely crucial to bat the Kiwis out of the game. He felt India timed the declaration well, leaving NZ a target of 284 at just under three per over.
When asked about whether Saha and Axar could’ve played more aggressively before the declaration, Dravid said that India were under pressure and three quick wickets would’ve turned the game in New Zealand’s favour.
“I don’t think so. That is not my reading of the game. Till half an hour before we declared, we were under pressure. All three results were possible,”
“To be very honest with you, if we had lost our three wickets quickly and they were chasing 240-250 in approximately 110 overs, then they are looking at 2.2-2.3 runs an over. So we needed that partnership.”
Dravid said.
Dravid suggested that they would have approached the final session of day four differently had Shreyas Iyer – who scored a century and a fifty in two innings – not been dismissed on the last ball before the tea.
“We lost Shreyas just before tea. Then we had that partnership, which was critical for us. From 167 for 7 to get to 230 for 7 was absolutely necessary. If this wicket was turning square and bouncing, and we had both the edges in play, there would have been a different situation.”
Dravid stated that scoring a low total under three an over is very gettable, with a couple of batters getting set. Contrary to popular opinion, he believed that they made the decision at the right time.
“When the opposition needs just under three an over. That’s not a lot of runs if a couple of batters get set. We timed it well. We managed to get a wicket yesterday, and we came very close today.”
One of the major factor in the drawn Test was the unresponsive pitch. The fifth day, pitch Kanpur was unlike a typical Indian pitch and offered little to no purchase for the bowlers. It also took a couple of wicket-taking modes out of the equation. Dravid said that the pitch didn’t offer turn and bounce and virtually ruled out outside edge.
“It probably was low and slow, probably didn’t have that much bounce, didn’t have turn. You probably expect a little bit more wear and tear on these wickets in Indian conditions over five days. This didn’t seem to have that bite,”
Dravid said.
Ravindra Jadeja was outstanding on the fifth day, picking four wickets while Ashwin claimed three. Axar, who took a five-wicket haul in the first innings, was surprisingly underbowled and picked one wicket along with Umesh Yadav.
The Indian coach praised his bowlers for taking the team so close to victory despite the pitch. He said the pitch was tough, and the bowlers did a great job to make a game out of it.
