‘We hardly got few weeks to prepare after IPL’: Dravid after WTC loss

“I’m never going to be happy with the preparations as a coach. But that’s the reality I’m ready to accept, and we all have to accept. The schedules are so cramped and tight. These guys know… if you’re playing international cricket, and if you’re here 3 weeks before the tour, playing two side-games, you are going to be better prepared,” the Indian head coach said on Star Sports.

“But we don’t have that. The situation doesn’t allow it. We have to make do with what we can. No excuses, no complaints, I just want to congratulate Australia on winning the final, they played better than us on all five days”, Dravid said

“We just need to look at ourselves, see how we can get better, and what we can improve on,” the Dravid added.

This was India’s second-successive loss in the final of the WTC tournament. The Team India had endured a seven-wicket loss against New Zealand in the final in 2021.The Indian side faced batting collapses across both the innings of the final match against Australia; in a mammoth 444-run chase, the Indian side were bowled out for 234 after resuming at 164/3 on the final day.

The Australian Team dominated throughout the five days of the Test match. They posted a strong score of 469 in the first innings. The Indian team was bowled out on 296. The Australians put out another impressive outing as they scored 270/8 as Indian bowlers failed to impress again.

Australia thus became the first team to win all ICC titles. The Aussies won the ODI World Cup in 1987, 1999, 2003, 2007 and 2015. The team has also also claimed the ICC Champions Trophy in successive editions in 2006 and 2009.

Updated: 11 Jun 2023, 08:02 PM IST