The Hindu : Sport : Disappointing, says Dravid

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Tuesday, Jan 09, 2007
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Disappointing, says Dravid

Principal Correspondent

`We had our moments'

WELCOME BACK: A young Indian fan greets S. Sreesanth, who did well in South Africa, on his arrival in Mumbai. — Photo: PTI

Bangalore: Rahul Dravid sounded a wee-bit tired and the disappointment in his voice was palpable. It was understandable. The South African tour had ended in dismay with the one-dayers going 0-4 in favour of the Proteas while the three Tests yielded a 1-2 verdict. The Indian skipper spoke to The Hindu over phone from Mumbai on Monday evening.

"Obviously it is very disappointing to lose the series especially after the way we started the Tests. Yes we had our moments like winning the first Test and we stayed competitive all through. In fact no one gave us a chance after the 0-4 result in the one-dayers but I think we did well as a team to bounce back and win the match at Johannesburg but it is very disappointing that we could not build on that. We had our sessions but somehow failed to improve on that," Dravid said.

The gains

The losses did hurt but the skipper also quickly pointed out the gains of the tour. "There were some positives and we can take heart from that. For instance the way our two medium-pacers — Sreesanth and Zaheer Khan — bowled all through the series was very good. And then Sourav Ganguly made a good comeback. Our wicketkeepers — Dhoni and Dinesh Karthik — also learnt some good lessons out there in those conditions. So there were some gains from this tour and we need to work on that and keep improving," Dravid said.

To play Ranji match

Dravid is scheduled to play for Karnataka in the Ranji Trophy Super League Group `A' final round match against Saurashtra at Rajkot from January 10 to 13. "In fact I am staying back in Mumbai and will be going to Rajkot straight from here for the Ranji game," Dravid said.

India's 30 probables for the World Cup in the West Indies and also the team for the first two matches of the four-match one-day series against the Carribeans, are expected to be announced on January 12 in Rajkot where the selection committee will meet. The World Cup probables list has to be submitted to the International Cricket Council by January 13.

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