London: Head Coach Rahul Dravid said giving away 157 runs in the last session of Day 1, and careless shots by top batsmen were the reasons for India's defeat at the hands of Australia in the final of the World Test Championship at The Oval here on Sunday.
"It wasn't a 469 wicket. On the first day, last session, conceding 157 [for no wicket] was disappointing ... The lengths weren't bad, but we went wide with our lines, gave a lot of room to Travis Head, he capitalised and we fell behind," he told Star Sports after the match.
"Yesterday I felt on this wicket, we played three-four shots, we could've been a bit careful," Dravid said.
Asked about India's decision to bowl first, Dravid said the overcast conditions and grass on the wicket on Day 1 were the reasons. And the Team also felt batting gets easier n England even on fourth and fifth day, he said. "At 70 [76] for 3, we felt it was a good decision, but the complexion of the game changed in the two sessions after that," Dravid defended.
"Had we restricted them to 300-odd, it would've been a good score, we would've still been in the game, and it would've been a tight third and fourth innings. It's one of those things in England. Last year at Edgbaston, the fourth innings became easier, and England chased 380 [378] easily. We knew 444 is a lot of runs, but if we kept them to 320, we could've chased it."
Asked by Harbhajan Singh if India needed to relook at having turning tracks to suit their spinners at home at the cost of exposing batsmen against quality pace abroad, Dravid said such risks need to be taken as obtaining points to qualify for WTC finals matters a lot.
"Nobody wants wickets to turn from the first ball and turn square, but certainly when you're playing the WTC and playing for points, as it gets to the back end of it ... everyone wants to come to games like this [final]. In situations like that, at times, you have to take a few risks," he said.
It is not only India, but also other teams are taking risks, Dravid argued. "We're not the only team taking risks ... Australia also used to play on wickets that lasted five days, but now they're also playing on wickets that are lasting three-four days in their own country," he contended. (UNI)
