Match evenly poised but we call pull it off: Dravid
Mohali, Oct. 3: A dramatic batting collapse late on Day Three dented India’s chances of taking a lead in the first Test here on Sunday, but Rahul Dravid reckons India’s spinners Harbhajan Singh and Pragyan Ojha can still ensure and Indian win.
“The wicket is good. There are a rough areas, however, from where an odd ball rises. We expect the wicket to crack a little bit and the two quality spinners (Harbhajan and Ojha) should be able to exploit the conditions tomorrow,” he said.
Dravid said the Australians bowled well in the last session, and India needed to emulate that kind of performance on Monday. “I wouldn’t say we let the game slip out of our hands, but you’ve got to give credit to the Australian bowlers the way they bowled in the last session. The game is still evenly poised and I think if we can restrict them to 250-260, it should be comfortable for us,” Dravid said.
He added that the morning session would be crucial for both sides and whoever does well in the first two hours would reach an advantageous position.
“The Test is poised well. Tomorrow’s first session is going to be quite crucial for us. We will need to take some quick wickets and restrict them for as less runs as we can so that we can put them under pressure. Obviously, if they bat well then they can put us on the backfoot,” Dravid, who hit a 77-run knock, said.
Dravid said he was not under pressure, despite a string of poor scores in the Test series against Sri Lanka. “There was not any additional pressure on me. You want to keep scoring runs. Yes, I did not get many runs in Sri Lanka, but batted well here,” he said.
He admitted that V.V.S. Laxman’s absence from batting at his regular position also did not help India's cause. “He had a back spasm, that was the reason he did not come out to bat. It was something that affected us a little bit because we lacked an expert batsman, especially when we had built the partnerships,” Dravid said.
Variation did the trick, says Johnson
Aussie pace spearhead Mitchell Johnson, who took 5/64 on Sunday, said he had to vary the pace of his bowling to get results. “Pace wasn’t getting me anything, so I had to bowl cross-seam and let the pitch do the work for me,” said Johnson at the end of day’s play.
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