India on Monday scored one of its finest wins in recent times, against a quality opposition that prides on its fearless brand of cricket. That too, after losing the first Test despite taking a first-innings lead of 190.
Not surprisingly, Rahul Dravid is a happy man. “We are happy we could bounce back,” said India’s coach after the 106-run victory against England in the second Test. “But we recognise it is going to be a fantastic series and some tough cricket will be played over the next three games.”
He said India, despite being put under pressure, was kept in the game by two fine individual performances. “Yashasvi’s brilliant innings and then Bumrah’s spell kept us in the game in the first two days and put us ahead by 143 runs. Then we needed a bit more of a team performance to get us over the line. So it was quite pleasing, after going down in the last Test match and then losing a few players.”
Dravid is also pleased with Shubman Gill’s hundred in the second innings. “He came into the Test match under pressure externally, but we have a lot of confidence in Shubman,” he said. “We know his class and his ability. As a young player from whom a lot is expected, I think he did feel the pressure. So I am really happy with the way he played that innings, which required him to soak in a lot of pressure at various times.”
When asked about Virat’s Kohli’s return to the squad — he wasn’t available for the first two Tests due to personal reasons — Dravid said: “I think it’s best to ask the selectors once the team is selected for the next three Tests. I am sure they are the best people to answer that.”
