No point brushing things under the carpet: Rahul Dravid
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Despite the 23-run loss to Sunrisers Hyderabad, Rajasthan Royals skipper Rahul Dravid seemed quite happy with the way his team responded to the challenge. Playing a day after the spot-fixing saga hit his team, Dravid said it took quite an effort for the players to get to the field and play.
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Excerpts:
On motivating his team for this game
It wasn't easy. There is no point in brushing things under the carpet. But these were a tough couple of days for everyone concerned. I was really happy with the way the boys responded to this challenge. It was not easy for all of them but once we crossed the line, I could sense everyone was playing to win, everyone wanted to do their best. I think we got great support. It was really a pleasure to lead the team today. It is always great to play in Hyderabad. The crowd was terrific. The crowd responded to the Sunrisers but they were always supportive of good cricket from our side. So, it is always great to play in Hyderabad, nice to come here. But I wish the wicket was better.
On what went wrong
I thought we did quite well in the first half to restrict them to 136, which was a par score. We always knew that 135 would be a very difficult chase on this wicket. We knew it would take some doing but we have been batting quite well lately, chasing, so we thought we would be able to do it. Credit to the Sunrisers' bowlers as they did very well in the middle period. I think between the fifth and 10th over, we got only 13 runs and lost two wickets. That is where we lost the game. For this kind of wicket, they have got a pretty good bowling attack. We didn't adapt well.
Was his own dismissal the turning point?
Yeah obviously, after that period, we got only 13 runs and lost two wickets. It was never an easy wicket to bat on but maybe if we had carried that partnership for another 20 runs and maybe the batsmen in the end would have come and got the 60 or 70 needed. But it was not to be. We kept losing wickets and it was not easy thereafter
On Brad Hodge bowling the first over
The team had two left-handers so maybe we thought he can squeeze in one over. The thing is that we have only one spinner in this team. Probably the conditions required two spinners and we just don't have those resources at the moment.
On James Faulkner
Jimmy is a fantastic cricketer who has done extremely well this season. He is 22-years-old and quite young in international cricket. He has got a bright future ahead of him. We haven't seen the best out of him with the bat as yet but in the nets, I have seen him, he is a very good batsman as well. Australia is lucky to have someone like Jimmy. If they manage him, look after him, he can be a really good cricketer for them.
On the future
We have got a few days off before the next game. We will go to Jaipur and regroup. We will get few a practice sessions and the rebuild the environment that we enjoy and then go to the playoffs. It is a great achievement to reach the playoffs. Although this game has not gone as planned we have another chance to take a crack at the cup.
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