(Credit ICC)
Rahul Dravid, the departing head coach of the Indian cricket team, has expressed his satisfaction with their consistent performance, reaching three ICC finals in the past year: the ICC World Test Championship (WTC), the ODI World Cup 2024, and now the ICC T20 World Cup 2024.
Dravid is optimistic that a combination of strategic acumen and a touch of fortune will pave the way for India to clinch their first ICC title in over a decade. The Men in Blue are gearing up to face South Africa in the final of the ongoing T20 World Cup 2024 on June 29 at Kensington Oval in Barbados.
Rahul Dravid expressed satisfaction with India’s consistent performance in ICC events over the past year. The team’s prowess in the ongoing T20 World Cup 2024 echoes their strong showing in last year’s ODI World Cup, where they narrowly missed the title against Australia on home soil.
Despite a tight turnaround, with India traveling to Barbados immediately after their semifinal in Guyana on June 27, Dravid affirmed that the team is mentally ready for the final. He emphasized that they have completed all necessary tactical preparations and are eagerly anticipating the challenge of facing South Africa in the summit clash. This will mark South Africa’s first appearance in a World Cup final.
Rahul Dravid said: “It is a good thing we have been consistently playing good cricket. We have been in finals in all three formats and credit goes to the players. If we play well and rub of the green goes (our way) we will surely win.”
Rahul Dravid confirms Team India’s readiness for the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 Final.
Head coach said: “In terms of our preparation, we’ve just got one day in the middle, so it’s unlikely we’re going to be having practice. It’s just about all the guys getting into ensuring that physically, mentally, tactically we are ready for the game.”
He further noted, “Those are the things that we can control, that we are fresh, that we’ve looked after all our niggles, if there are any. We’ve done all our tactical preparation and we’re mentally relaxed and excited and looking forward to the game. We’ll be looking to do that in the next 24 hours and try and get ourselves in the right frame of mind to be able to play that game.”
India seeks to capitalize on their prior experience on the Barbados pitch against South Africa, according to Rahul Dravid. In their first Super 8 match, India managed to score 181 runs against Afghanistan on a challenging pitch that posed difficulties for playing attacking shots. When questioned about India potentially holding a significant pitch advantage in the T20 World Cup 2024 final, Dravid acknowledged that they intend to leverage the lessons learned from that match against Afghanistan in their upcoming crucial encounter with South Africa.
Dravid said, “Yeah, I mean, just the fact that we’ve played a game in Barbados is nice. It’s nice that we have that familiarity of having played on that surface in the past. But again, I think it’s very hard to… We’re not going to get the same wicket that we got last time. I mean, it can be different, right?”
Ultimately, the Indian coach expressed his hope that his team will demonstrate the ability to assess and adapt to the pitch conditions, similar to their performance in the last three matches, when they take on South Africa in the T20 World Cup 2024 final in Barbados on Saturday.
