Achieving target improbable: Dravid | Latest News India - Hindustan Times
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Achieving target improbable: Dravid

None | ByPress Trust of India, St Kitts
Jun 28, 2006 12:22 PM IST

"It wasn't the kind of wicket where you could go and smash every ball," the skipper said.

Indian captain Rahul Dravid defended the decision to down the shutters in the final session of the third Test instead of going for a rare overseas victory.

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"History shows that over 450 runs on the final day have never been scored before. We had a good start and we looked like having a whiff in the afternoon. But the ball was old and a bit soft and after Dhoni got out, we played for a draw," Dravid said after India briefly toyed and then abandoned the dramatic bid.

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"It wasn't the kind of wicket where you could go and smash every ball. I don't think smashing every ball would have been prudent as well," the skipper said.

India had promoted wicketkeeper Mahendra Singh Dhoni in order to push on with the scoring. The whiff was real as the equation at that time read 149 runs from 25 overs with seven wickets in hand.

But Dhoni, after starting with a six, appeared to play conservatively.

"It was a kind of wicket where there were certain shots you couldn't play. The West Indian captain realised it quickly and instructed his bowlers to bowl wide off the off-stump.

"When you pitched short, it was keeping low. If the ball was short, you didn't get much pace off the square cut. Once the ball comes on to the bat, you can use the angle, use pace and get runs square off the wicket," Dravid said.

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