Rahul Dravid on India's disappointment after Australia comfortably win the ODI World Cup final
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00:00 Rahul, nothing could go wrong till the final, but this time a bad day in office.
00:07 Your thoughts?
00:08 Yeah, obviously a tough day at the office.
00:13 Ran a really good campaign.
00:16 Really proud of the boys, the way we played right through this tournament, the kind of
00:21 cricket we played, just the quality of cricket that we played right through this tournament
00:31 I thought was quite exceptional.
00:34 So really proud of the efforts, proud of everything that we gave.
00:37 I think we gave everything we had in this tournament.
00:41 So really proud of the team, proud of all the boys, proud of the support staff.
00:45 I think we ran a really good campaign.
00:49 Just at the last step in the final, we probably didn't have our best game.
00:52 And credit to Australia, my congratulations to them.
00:54 They played really well on the day.
00:56 They were better than us.
00:57 How do you sum up these two years of your coaching?
01:06 How do you look at it?
01:07 Like one semi-final, one final, a very good team, a lot of good performances with a high
01:13 winning percentage.
01:14 How do you look at it?
01:15 God, I haven't had time to think about that.
01:17 I mean, I just walked out of a game there.
01:19 So to be very honest with you, I haven't really thought about it.
01:23 And to be honest, I'm not really someone who's going to judge and analyze myself.
01:35 But to be honest, just like I said, I was really proud to work with, I think, a fantastic
01:40 support staff, just some great people to work with.
01:47 I think the players that I worked with over the last two years in all the formats really
01:52 enjoyed working with them.
01:54 And yeah, it's been a privilege.
02:00 Coach hard luck for today.
02:02 Ten consecutive wins.
02:03 How difficult does it get for the coaching staff, for the senior players like Rohit and
02:08 Virat to kind of pull the boys up after such a defeat?
02:11 Because very much the favorites in the game and then losing a final which was there for
02:16 the taking because you were considered the favorites for this.
02:19 I mean, we were the favorites because we were playing well.
02:22 But I think you can recognize that Australia is also a very good cricket team.
02:25 I mean, they also came here with eight wins on the back.
02:28 So we were under no illusions that this was going to be a tough contest.
02:31 We were confident that if we played well, we'd get the right result.
02:34 But unfortunately, on the day, they played better than us.
02:37 And no, I think, like I said, it's for us.
02:41 Of course, there's going to be disappointment.
02:42 There is disappointment in the dressing room and there is disappointment among the boys
02:46 and among the support staff.
02:49 But certainly, I think, you know, when in time, when the dust settles, we can reflect
02:53 on I think what has been a really good campaign.
02:55 Rahul, from this squad of 15, many of them would be on the other side of 30s when it
03:02 comes to the next 50-over World Cup.
03:05 Who among these would you think have potential for the 2027 World Cup?
03:09 Who can go on to play?
03:11 And like I said, I walk off the ground, just walked off the ground.
03:16 So I'm not really thinking about 2027 and who's going to be there and who's not going
03:20 to be there.
03:21 I mean, there's a lot of time for that.
03:23 There's a lot of water will flow under the bridge before that.
03:26 And, you know, there'll be a lot of time for that.
03:29 But yeah, so to be honest, I just don't know how to answer this question because, you know,
03:34 I've just walked off.
03:35 Like I said, even the earlier questions, it's like, you know, I haven't really had time
03:38 to reflect on these things.
03:39 Rahul, 80, around 80 for three, was it a conscientious effort of Kohli and Rahul to
03:48 bat out the 50 overs, at least bat till the 50 overs, and still 240 was not enough?
03:52 Would you say that?
03:53 I mean, we knew, we probably, in hindsight, I think we fell about 30-40 runs short.
03:58 It's not that we were looking to bat it out.
04:00 I thought they bowled well through that period.
04:02 I thought just the ball, just felt like the ball was stopping in the afternoon a little
04:09 bit more than it did in the evening.
04:12 And not that there was a lot of dew, to be honest, but just felt like the ball came on
04:16 to the bat a lot better in the evening.
04:19 There was that period where I think, you know, the ball was sort of stopping.
04:23 We weren't able to get boundaries.
04:25 We were rotating the strike, but we weren't able to hit those boundaries.
04:29 And yeah, there was a conscious effort to try and, you know, take the game deep, but
04:33 we kept losing wickets.
04:34 You know, we just lost wickets just when we felt that, you know, we built a partnership
04:37 and we can start going.
04:39 We lost a wicket, you know, we lost Virat and then we lost Jaddu and then we lost Rahul.
04:44 So we just kept losing wickets at sort of like critical intervals and has probably felt
04:48 that we were about 40 runs short.
04:49 I mean, I know in the end it looked like they would have chased even 40 runs more.
04:55 But if we had got to 280, 290 and they were, you know, they were 60 for 3, then it might
05:00 have been a very different game.
05:01 But with 240, I think they were always one partnership away from getting there.
05:06 And yeah, they batted really well.
05:07 I thought Travis had played exceptionally well.
05:09 He got through that initial period.
05:11 We were a little bit unlucky.
05:14 You know, he beat the bat a few times.
05:17 Stuff could have gone our way in that situation.
05:19 But once he got through that, I thought he played really well.
05:23 Just a few words on Rohit, the captain and the batsman.
05:28 I mean, having committed to a brand of cricket that he wanted to play and set the tone and
05:32 just to maintain it throughout the competition.
05:34 Yeah, I think he's been an exceptional leader.
05:37 You know, Rohit's really led this team fantastically well.
05:41 You know, I think he's certainly got the dressing room.
05:45 I just think he's given so much of his time and energy in the dressing room to the boys.
05:51 He's always been available for any of our conversations, any of our meetings.
05:56 Sometimes there's been a lot of planning, a lot of strategy that goes in.
06:00 He's always committed to those things.
06:02 You know, he's given a lot of his personal time, energy into this campaign.
06:10 And his batting as well.
06:11 I thought it was fantastic the way he set the tone for us.
06:14 You know, we knew that we wanted to play a certain way.
06:16 We wanted to play a positive attacking brand of cricket.
06:20 And you know, he was very committed to doing that.
06:22 And he wanted to lead by example.
06:24 And I thought right through the tournament, he was quite superb in doing that.
06:30 And yeah, I just can't speak more highly of him as a person and as a leader.
06:36 Rahul, as you said, it was a great campaign.
06:40 Final result notwithstanding.
06:42 But how did you plan?
06:43 You know, you made all three injured players who got operated, Shreyas, Iyer, Bumrah and
06:49 even Kale, perfectly in time.
06:53 How much of planning did it go and how did you do this split up?
06:58 I mean, obviously, there is a certain level of planning and some thought that goes into
07:01 it.
07:02 Obviously, we were unfortunate with a few injuries before the tournament.
07:07 And it was always the plan was to try and get them ready for the Asia Cup and the World
07:10 Cup.
07:11 And you need a bit of luck as well.
07:13 You know, sometimes in these things, these injuries can take a little bit longer or they
07:15 can, you know, so it was, I think we were, I think in that sense, quite lucky that we
07:19 were able to get them for the Asia Cup.
07:21 And then from there on into the World Cup.
07:22 And I thought all three of them performed exceptionally.
07:25 Obviously, during the tournament, we lost Hardik, which meant our balance changed.
07:29 But that, you know, honestly didn't affect the results because we were able to play with
07:32 five bowlers and we managed that pretty well, except for probably this final.
07:38 But yeah, but I think in any tournament that you play like this, you've got to have plan
07:42 A and plan B and sometimes plan C. And we obviously started off with a particular plan,
07:47 but then we were good enough, I thought, to adapt and shift to plan B when we had the
07:52 injury.
07:53 Rahul bhai, you said there's a lot of time left in 2027, but seven months from now, there's
07:59 another T20 World Cup.
08:00 There's not much time left.
08:01 The way this team has run the campaign, the senior players, we were talking earlier, especially
08:07 with Virat and Rohit, do you think that whatever the final result is, they can take another
08:12 crack?
08:13 For the West Indies, including you, is there a possibility that in the next six or seven
08:16 months, we can again…
08:17 Honestly, I haven't thought about that.
08:20 I think all our campaign, all our energies were focused on this match, focused on this
08:26 tournament and focused till here.
08:29 And I haven't actually given it any thought or I've had no plans of what's going to
08:35 happen in the future.
08:36 Rahul bhai, last year, the T20 World Cup, we made 170 runs in 20 overs.
08:42 It was very easy for England to chase that.
08:44 And today we saw that when we made 240 runs, it wasn't very difficult for Australia.
08:49 Rohit comes on this wicket, he makes 45-47 on 30.
08:54 But on the other side, there are some batsmen who play 110 balls and make 60-65 runs.
08:59 And the strike rate is very low.
09:00 So what happens is that in big matches, we're playing a little scared.
09:04 You think our approach is not right.
09:06 What are the issues?
09:07 These issues have been visible since the last three or four World Cups, Asia Cups.
09:10 If you leave this Asia Cup.
09:12 I will not believe that we played in this tournament in fear.
09:15 In this final match, we were on 80 runs in 10 overs.
09:18 We lost wickets.
09:19 When you lose wickets, you have to change your strategy, your tactics.
09:23 Sometimes you have to change.
09:26 And we showed that in this entire tournament.
09:29 When we lost some wickets against England, we played a little differently.
09:35 You have to play.
09:36 You start front foot cricket.
09:38 And in this match, in the final, we didn't play anything in fear.
09:42 It was like, they did a good job in the over of the middle.
09:47 We lost three wickets.
09:49 So there was a need for a consolidation period at that time.
09:52 But when we thought that we will play a little attacking or positive, we will go ahead and hit.
09:58 So our wickets fell.
10:00 So you have to build again.
10:02 Whenever you have a partnership, you have to build.
10:05 Like their batting, you saw that there was a time when Manas and Head
10:12 were playing, they established.
10:13 But they didn't get out, so they kept playing.
10:16 It is like, if you lose wickets in the middle, then you have to rebuild again.
10:21 But it's not like we started that we will play defensive.
10:25 Rahul, there was obviously a message theory building up to the final.
10:29 People were excited.
10:30 But 100,000 people left disappointed tonight.
10:32 And many more are going to bed disappointed tonight around the country.
10:36 What would your message be to the nation of India after the defeat?
10:39 I think there will be some disappointment.
10:43 But I think they got to watch the Indian team play.
10:47 They had a fantastic campaign right through the World Cup.
10:50 I said that at the start of the tournament that we'd be traveling to.
10:55 We eventually went to 11 cities, played in front of our fans.
10:59 You know, truly grateful for the kind of support that we received.
11:02 Every single venue we went to was packed.
11:04 People came out to watch.
11:07 It was a great privilege to play in front of our fans.
11:10 And I thought the team did really well and really entertained the fans.
11:14 So while there may be some disappointments today, I think there's a lot of joy that this
11:19 team has given to the people over the last couple of months.
11:24 It was a privilege, I think, this tournament, just to see.
11:26 I think there's no doubt that the fans of the subcontinent are truly great fans.
11:30 They make this game the great game that it is, without a doubt.
11:36 And what would we do without the fans in the subcontinent?
11:39 I think for us to be able to play in front of them and to entertain them and to play
11:43 the brand of cricket that I think a lot of people really enjoyed watching was a privilege.
11:48 So yeah, of course there's disappointment.
11:50 Everyone wants us to win.
11:51 There's more disappointment in our dressing room than anywhere else.
11:55 But like I said, there's a lot of positives to reflect on as well.
11:59 It was.
12:16 I think it was really important that we got off to a good start because as you noticed,
12:19 it got really slow and got a bit lower later on, especially when we batted first.
12:23 So it was really good that we got off to a good start.
12:25 I thought 84, just losing Rohit unfortunately in that last over to a terrific catch was
12:33 unfortunate.
12:34 But I thought we set the base up really well.
12:37 But then, like I said, we kept losing wickets just when we thought we were consolidating
12:41 and building a partnership.
12:42 We lost a couple of wickets in a clump there.
12:44 And then just as we built a partnership with Rohit and Rahul, with Virat and Rahul, Virat
12:48 got out and then we lost a couple more quickly.
12:50 So I think that we just kept losing wickets and credit to Australia.
12:53 I thought they utilized the conditions really well.
12:55 They utilized the reverse swing.
12:59 They got a bit of reverse swing when they bowled first and they used that really well.
13:04 I thought their fielding was spot on.
13:06 So they played really well and I thought they did well to restrict us to 240.
13:10 Rahul, after working together for two years, one is to give big exams like the World Cup
13:18 and the other is to make a team.
13:21 So how happy are you with the team you have built in the last two years?
13:27 Look, I mean, obviously, if you look at it, we are the number one team in all three formats
13:35 at the moment.
13:36 But, you know, obviously for us, I mean, honestly, it would have been really nice at this point
13:40 of time.
13:41 There is a disappointment of not winning the trophy.
13:44 But of course, you know, I think there have been a lot of positives as well, a lot of
13:48 good results, a lot of good performances.
13:51 Of course, we would have liked to have won today, but we didn't win.
13:55 And I thought overall, you know, I thought it's been a really good World Cup.
14:00 Rahul, Rohit, we have seen through this tournament on the field has been very calm and composed.
14:05 In his many press conferences, he has been humorous, lighthearted.
14:08 You must have seen the other side in the dressing room, especially today.
14:11 How emotional and how disappointed is he?
14:14 Yeah, of course, he is disappointed, as are many of the boys in the dressing room.
14:18 It wasn't, yeah, there was a lot of emotions in that dressing room.
14:24 It was tough to see as a coach, because I know how hard these guys have worked, what
14:29 they put in, the sacrifices they have made.
14:31 So it's tough, I mean, it's tough to see that as a coach, because you get to know these
14:35 boys personally.
14:37 You get to see the effort they put in, the hard work that we have put in over the last
14:40 month, the kind of cricket we have played.
14:43 But like, yeah, but that's sport, that happens, you know.
14:46 It can happen, and the better team won on the day.
14:49 And I'm sure that the sun will come up tomorrow morning, we'll learn from it, we'll reflect,
14:54 and we'll move on, as will everyone else.
14:56 I mean, that's what you do as sportsmen, you know.
14:58 You have some great highs in sport, and you have some lows in sport, and you keep moving
15:02 on, you don't stop.
15:04 Because if you don't put yourself on the line, you don't put yourself in games like these,
15:08 you don't experience the great highs, and neither do you experience the great lows.
15:11 And if you don't do that, you don't learn.
15:15 You said when the dust settles down, it will be reflective of how good the campaign was.
15:20 When the dust settles down, would the overarching feeling of being a satisfaction, of pride
15:25 in such an enthralling, dynamic, entertaining campaign, or just because this team has been
15:31 so dominant, so good, there's a great chance of winning a World Cup gone?
15:35 Would there be a regret?
15:36 What do you think will be the takeaway from this tournament when the dust settles down?
15:40 See, I can answer that when the dust does settle down.
15:43 It was your word.
15:45 My word, exactly, because the dust hasn't settled down now.
15:47 It's going to take some time for the dust to settle, I think.
15:50 So at this point of time, there's disappointment.
15:56 What else can I say?
15:57 I'd like to believe that in time, we'll be able to look at some of the positives of this.
16:03 But sure, at this point of time, there is disappointment.
16:07 Rahul, tough luck today.
16:13 Just wanted you to dwell on your future now.
16:17 And would you like to continue as the coach of maybe only the red ball team or the white
16:22 ball team?
16:23 Where do you see yourself?
16:26 I haven't thought about it.
16:27 Again, I've just come off a game.
16:28 I have no time to think about this and no time to reflect on this.
16:35 I will when I get the time to do that.
16:37 But at this point of time, I was completely focused on this campaign.
16:40 It was focused on this World Cup and there was nothing else on my mind.
16:46 And I haven't given any other thought to what happens in the future.
16:49 Rahul, just a word on the making of the bowling attack, which is one of the best, like other
16:55 teams consider it one of the most lethal things of the Indian team.
16:59 So how much effort and planning went into creating this bowling attack?
17:05 Look, I think this bowling attack, to be honest, I don't think we can take all the
17:12 credit for the creation of this bowling attack because it's been around for a long time.
17:17 It's been there.
17:18 So I think a lot of the three fast bowlers who bowled for us right through this tournament
17:23 have been around for a while, really experienced fast bowlers as well.
17:28 But certainly I think some of the tactics and the strategies and some of the execution
17:32 that we saw over this tournament and what we've seen recently has been absolutely fantastic.
17:40 And yeah, a lot of planning and effort goes into it.
17:42 Paras works really closely with them.
17:44 We've got our sports science team that really looks after the fitness side of things.
17:48 So obviously any fast bowlers, keeping them on the path and working with them requires
17:54 planning, requires strategy.
17:56 And more importantly, it requires a willingness from the boys to put in the effort and the
18:00 hard work.
18:01 So I think just a credit to Booms and Shammy and Siraj.
18:05 They've been absolutely brilliant for us right through this tournament, as has been
18:09 Jaddu and Kuldeep and even Ash in the one game that he played.
18:14 So yeah, bowling's been truly spectacular right through this tournament.
18:20 Probably today was probably one of those days where we just didn't give them maybe enough
18:23 runs to be able to work with.
18:26 Rahul, the Australians were very wary of this pitch that you were playing on today.
18:31 They were probably inspecting it more than they have in other games.
18:34 Were you happy with how it turned out?
18:37 Yeah, they should be happy now.
18:38 No, I thought it was fine.
18:41 I mean, yeah, it was a bit slow to start off with when the sun was on, but I think it didn't.
18:46 I thought it played fine.
18:48 It was probably a 280, 290 kind of wicket.
18:50 It wasn't 240.
18:51 We should have got those 40 extra runs.
18:53 That might have put more pressure on Australia.
18:55 I thought it played really well later on as well.
18:58 So no, I thought it was a pretty good wicket.
19:00 You know, sometimes looks can be a bit deceiving.
19:02 I didn't really have that many tricks.
19:05 And yeah, probably 280, 290 wicket.
19:09 Yeah, did Australia's use of bowlers, they used seven bowlers often for one or two over
19:14 spells, did it have an impact on the batsmen in the middle overs?
19:17 No, not just the fact that they used seven bowlers.
19:20 I thought the way that they bowled was really good.
19:23 I thought they, like I said, they bowled very straight, bowled straighter lines, used the
19:28 slower ball really well, used the larger, big size of the boundary really well.
19:32 Didn't let us get away with many boundaries in that middle period.
19:35 We've sort of been a team that's been hitting a lot of boundaries in that period, but with
19:40 their tactics and the way they bowled, they probably didn't let us get many boundaries.
19:44 And like I said, it was probably also a function of the fact that just when we thought we were
19:48 settling in and looking to go, you just felt that the guys were looking to go and then
19:52 you lost a few wickets.
19:53 So it's just that we just couldn't build a big partnership.
19:56 We couldn't really get a really big partnership like Travis Head or Manas Labhashain did.
20:01 We just couldn't, we just didn't get to that 70-80 run mark in a partnership to be able
20:05 to sort of take it on and launch and get those extra 30-40 runs that we needed.
20:11 Rahul, superb cricket your team played throughout the tournament, but just that an ICC trophy
20:18 last 10 years, it still is out of bounds for the Indian team.
20:21 Now having worked with the team for two years, have you found any particular reason that
20:26 why are we feeling the crunch matches, be it semifinal, final, whatever, what happens
20:31 to us?
20:32 I mean, I guess if I knew the answer, I would say that.
20:35 But no, I think, to be honest, I don't know, I've been involved in three now, one semifinal
20:44 and the World Test Championship and this one as well.
20:47 I just think we haven't played really well on the day.
20:53 I mean, I thought we were a bit short in Brisbane, in Adelaide, sorry, in the semifinal.
21:00 We lost the first day in the World Test Championship, unfortunately.
21:03 We didn't bowl particularly well after Australia was three down there.
21:08 And here we didn't bat well enough in the first.
21:10 So yeah, there's not one particular reason you can pin it down to.
21:14 It's not that, I mean, I didn't feel at any stage going into this game that there were
21:18 any nerves or the guys were intimidated by the game or they were concerned about the
21:22 game.
21:23 I think they were looking forward to it.
21:24 We were excited about the game.
21:27 I thought there was energy and the mental space the boys were in leading into this particular
21:31 game was spot on, was terrific.
21:34 Just on the day we probably didn't execute and Australia played better than us.
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