India head coach Rahul Dravid said that he wants his batters to bat longer and if they get a partnership going, then continue in the same vein. This came after India lost the second Test of the three-match series to South Africa at Johannesburg on Thursday, January 6, 2022.
Dean Elgar’s 96*was the cornerstone of South Africa’s record chase of 240 runs at the Wanderers, where the Proteas registered their maiden Test win over India at the venue.
Dravid accepted that the lowly first innings score of 202 was at least 70 short and it became the difference in the final context of the game. He also echoed the sentiments of stand-in captain KL Rahul by admitting that they need to bat "a bit better".
"Honestly, we pride ourselves on wanting to do better and wanting to get better so as a batting unit. We have to certainly look to seize a few key moments and certainly when you get those partnerships, may be make them a little bit longer,” Dravid said in the virtual press conference after the match.
Dravid also felt that India was 60-70 runs short in their second innings as the pitch was a difficult one to bat, where a handy target could have had the Proteas in trouble.
"We could have probably got 60-70 runs more in that first innings. Probably that could have made a significant difference to this game and we would like to bat a bit better and need to keep improving. Maybe some of the guys who got starts could have converted into hundreds and that was the difference in the first Test as we had Rahul in the first game, who had got hundred for us and we ended up on the winning side. And in the second game, they had someone (Dean Elgar) scoring 96 and they ended up on the winning side,” Dravid added.
Furthermore, Dravid was also all praises for South Africa captain Dean Elgar, whose stoic 96* anchored the Proteas’ chase on a difficult pitch and the Indian head coach said that all credit of the win should go to the captain of opposition.
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"He did well. You have to give him credit as he stuck it out there in both the Test matches and he is fought through some very difficult periods. We have beaten the bat quite a few times and we haven't been really lucky. The oddball kicked up, hit the gloves and he didn't looked comfortable but stuck out. He has shown a lot of resilience and determination,” Dravid lauded Dean Elgar.
"We have clear strategies and plans but at times it doesn't work your way," Dravid signed off.
South Africa and India will now face off in the third and final Test of the series at Cape Town from January 11 onwards as the series stands 1-1.
(PTI inputs)
