Rahul Dravid's chapter as Team India head coach came to an end after India won the T20 World Cup this year. The Rohit Sharma-led side beat South Africa in the final by seven runs in June, with India finally managing to clinch an ICC trophy since 2013. Dravid didn't extend his contract due to family and personal commitments, but will surely be remembered as one of the best head coaches in the national team history, and is credited for moulding the likes of Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal.
It wasn't an easy route to the ICC trophy for Dravid. In 2023, India lost the WTC final and ODI World Cup, and the latter one hurt the most. In the ODI World Cup final, India were hammered by Australia by six wickets in Ahmedabad, courtesy of a century by Travis Head, who cruised past the home side's bowlers with ease.
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What did Rahul Dravid say?
Speaking at the CEAT Cricket Awards event, Dravid revealed that the Indian bowlers managed to beat Head around 15 times, but he did not touch a single ball, indicating that a team needs luck sometimes.
"I remember whatever it was, we beat Travis Head's bat 15 times -- he did not touch a single ball. You know, things can go your way sometimes, but you have to stick to the process. I have had time to reflect on it. I have had time to reflect on a lot of things we have 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," he said.
{{/usCountry}}"I remember whatever it was, we beat Travis Head's bat 15 times -- he did not touch a single ball. You know, things can go your way sometimes, but you have to stick to the process. I have had time to reflect on it. I have had time to reflect on a lot of things we have 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," he said.
{{/usCountry}}"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," he added.
Chasing 241 runs, Australia reached 241/4 in 43 overs, courtesy of a ton from Head and an unbeaten Marnus Labuschagne (58*) half-century. Head slammed 137 off 120 balls, taking the game away from India with utter dominance.
Initially, India were bowled out for 240, with KL Rahul and Virat Kohli getting half-centuries. Meanwhile, Mitchell Starc picked three wickets for the Aussies.