India head coach Rahul Dravid opened up on the differences between the then head coach Ravi Shastri’s team and England during the 2021 tour, saying that India were on a roll at that stage while England were in a different situation too. Notably, Shastri and the then captain Virat Kohli had taken India to a dominant position, leading the five-match series 2-1 against England before the fifth Test. However, under new coach Dravid, India lost the rescheduled fifth and final Test as England beat the visitors by seven wickets and equalled the series 2-2.
When he was asked this, Dravid said: “India was on a roll at that stage. England were probably in a slightly different situation at that point of time, when that series was on.
Under the current head coach Rahul Dravid, India have seen four different captains – Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah – in the Test format this year. India, led by Kohli and Rahul, lost the away Test series against South Africa earlier this year as well.
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“They (England) have come here at the back of three consecutive wins against New Zealand. We (India) have had a long gap in between Test cricket, but you know, no excuses,” Rahul Dravid said in the press conference.
In the fifth Test, Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja helped India post a decent total after an early collapse in their first innings. On the back of their centuries, India took a lead of 132 runs but failed to carry the momentum on. The visitors managed to add only 245 runs in their second innings and set a 378-run target as well. In reply, England played an aggressive game with Alex Lees and Zak Crawley adding a 107-run opening partnership before Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow took the team to 259/3 at stumps on Day 4 as well. With only 119 runs needed, Root (142*) and Bairstow (114*) sealed the deal in the first session of Day 5.
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“They played well over the five days. We had our opportunities. We played well in the first three days. You know, we couldn’t maintain that. And that’s why Test cricket is hard and that’s why Test cricket means that, you know, you’ve got to be able to, you know, you’ve got to keep putting those performances right through the five days. We were not able to do that and they did that better than us and they deserve to win this Test match,” Rahul Dravid concluded.
