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| Dravid |
London: Rahul Dravid spoke to the media in general (at The Oval) on Sunday evening and, then, briefly separately to The Telegraph.
The following are excerpts
His 35th Test hundred, a sterling knock...
You do get a lot of satisfaction from such innings... What you do most recently is what stays in the mind.
The series being a success for him personally...
I’ve been quite happy with the quality of my batsmanship against such a strong bowling attack. But I’ve got mixed feelings as, collectively, we haven’t done well.
What drives him at the age of 38...
I just look to keep improving... I try to get the best out of myself and keep working hard.
Having had to bat a second time after a 10-minute break...
There was no debate over it, as Gautam (Gambhir) wasn’t well... The flow was there, so I had no problem... It wasn’t an ideal situation, but I was mentally ready.
Opening the innings, when he’s essentially a No.3...
I do feel rushed if the change-over time is only 10 minutes... I have my routines... On Saturday, there was a long rain interruption and I knew a declaration would be made... I could prepare myself.
Quality of this England attack...
Very high... The quicks have swung the ball at pace and the wickets have had plenty of spice ... We just haven’t been at the top of our game.
His fitness...
(Laughs) When you’re doing well, you don’t feel tired... I don’t feel that tired when I’m batting as opposed to fielding... But, I’d rather be tired... Rather have it this way than any other way.
The way the rest of the team prepared in the Test series...
Look, the guys have tried their best... It’s just sad for us that, collectively, we’ve had a bad tour... We’ve not clicked as a unit... People have bad tours, I’ve had bad tours, but this has been a collective failure... No one goes out there to fail... In the past, at least two-three batsmen would be among the runs, but this has been a new experience for me.
Comparing the 2002 series (three Test hundreds even then) to this one...
We were a younger team, with most of us at the peak of our careers... Today, some of us are closer to the end, rather than the beginning of our careers... We’ve tasted a lot of success from then till now... We have the talent, but Test cricket is a long, hard school.
Andrew Strauss’s team...
A team which is well-drilled... Good with skills and good fitness... We knew they’d be good at home. The reality is that we weren’t up to scratch.
Lessons to learn...
There are lessons to learn.
If he’s felt frustrated...
Not frustrated... At the end of the day, so much of the sport is a mental thing, so hitting balls for the sake of hitting them won’t be the solution... We’ll have to look at our skills and try to get better. Of course, it’s not a nice feeling to be losing.
India hosting England for a Test series in 2012-13...
The team which plays then, I’m sure, will be very determined to correct this series... The challenge for England will be to beat us in India... Over the years, a number of good teams with great bowlers haven’t been able to do that. It will be an interesting series.
If rain can save India on the final day...
We’ll have to help ourselves!
Finally, on Sunil Gavaskar having led the applause in the TV commentators’ box when he got to his 35th hundred...
It’s nice to hear that... It’s humbling... Gavaskar has been a legend and, as I’ve said, in the backyard games, I’d imagine I was either him or Vishy (Gundappa Viswanath).
