‘They are being picked on merit’ – Rahul Dravid defends middle order failure after Hyderabad loss

India suffered a surprising 28-run defeat on Day 4 of the primary Test match in opposition to England on Sunday. Despite taking a 190-run lead within the first innings, the hosts fell to tug off a end result after an sudden middle order collapsed at Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium.

Ollie Pope’s sensational hundred after which seven-wicket haul from left-arm spinner Tom Hartley guided England to a deserving win to kick off a vital 5-match sequence in some model. Apart from England’s apparent superior efficiency, the hosts additionally must be blamed for conceding a primary-ever Test match defeat after having a 100-plus lead at residence.

India head coach Rahul Dravid confronted the media within the publish-match press convention in Hyderabad and defined the explanations behind India’s loss. He highlighted India’s lack of runs within the second innings and in addition added that India fell 70 runs brief within the first innings.

“I thought we left probably 70 runs on the board in the first innings,” Rahul Dravid mentioned in a press convention. “You know, I believe in our first innings, when circumstances had been fairly good to bat in on day two, I believed within the sorts of conditions we acquired ourselves into, some good begins and we did not actually capitalise.

“We didn’t get a hundred, you know, we didn’t get somebody getting a really big hundred for us. So, in some ways, in India, I just felt we left those 70, and 80 runs back in the hut in the first innings. The second innings is always going to be challenging. It’s one of those things that, you know, it’s tough. It’s not easy to chase 230 or it’s not done very often.”

When requested about India’s struggles within the middle order, the previous cricketer defended inexperienced gamers. With Kohli taking a break and veteran Ajinkya Rahane, and Cheteshwar Pujara out, the brand new-look middle order clearly lacked expertise in chasing a 231-run goal within the fourth innings. 

However, Dravid identified the issue of chasing within the final innings and mentioned that the kids deserve their place after impressing in home cricket. 

“To be fair, there have been challenging wickets as well over the last few years. And it’s been a bit of a challenge for some of our young batsmen to adapt. But they’ve got the skill and they’ve got the ability, and they’ve not come here just like that; they’ve come here by scoring a lot of runs in domestic cricket, doing well in A-team cricket. So, you know, they are being picked on merit,” Dravid added.