"We beat Travis Head’s bat 15 times, he didn’t touch a single ball" - Rahul Dravid opens up on the role of luck in winning ICC events
Former Team India head coach Rahul Dravid emphasized the role of luck in determining the outcome of crucial matches in ICC events. Under Dravid, India have seen the extremes of highs and lows in the last two World Cups - the 2023 ODI and 2024 T20 World Cup.
Rohit Sharma's men dominated the 2023 ODI World Cup at home, winning 10 consecutive games to reach the final. However, they came unstuck against Australia in the summit clash, losing by six wickets to finish on a heartbreak.
Speaking at the CEAT Cricket Awards ceremony in Mumbai on August 21, Dravid pointed to the luck factor working against them in that game.
"I remember whatever it was, we beat Travis Head’s bat 15 times — he didn’t touch a single ball. You know, things can go your way sometimes, but you have to stick to the process. I’ve had time to reflect on it. I’ve had time to reflect on a lot of things we’ve done. You do realise, sometimes, you have to do a lot of these things, you have to do the process, you have to do everything right," said Dravid.
He also mentioned how the game of inches went in India's favor in their recent T20 World Cup final triumph against South Africa.
“Sometimes at the end of the day, you need a little bit of luck. Sometimes (it is) the skill, but we needed a guy who could keep his foot within one inch of a line," Dravid added.
Despite Dravid not mentioning Suryakumar Yadav's name, he was clearly talking about Suryakumar's catch at long-on inches from the boundary rope with South Africa needing 16 off 6 deliveries that effectively sealed India's victory.
They eventually won by seven runs to break their over-decade-long ICC trophy drought.
"These players have been able to carry the legacy forward" - Rahul Dravid
Rahul Dravid hailed the generation of Indian players after his retirement for carrying the team's legacy forward and being consistently dominant in all formats over the past decade.
Despite winning their first ICC title since 2013 only in this year's T20 World Cup, India have been ranked in the top two across all three formats in the last 10 years.
"I left in 2011-2012. These players have been able to carry the legacy forward. If you just look at the success that we’ve had over the last 12 years in all the three formats of the game, the time that after we left, it’s been absolutely phenomenal," said Dravid.
He continued:
"Very easily, clearly in a lot of the rankings, we’re always (No.) 1 or 2… we’re always up there with anyone. To be able to go out and win that, just the kind of cricket that we play, the level of skill of some of our players, the way that they approach the game, is great."
Dravid completed his tenure as Indian head coach with the 2024 T20 World Cup and has been replaced by another former cricketer Gautam Gambhir.
Gambhir's first assignment was the recent white-ball tour of Sri Lanka, where India won the T20I series 3-0 and lost the ODIs 0-2.