Sending a clear message to the faltering opening pair, Indian skipper Rahul Dravid on Saturday said he would not hesitate to take tough decisions for the series-deciding third cricket Test against South Africa in Cape Town.
DURBAN: Sending a clear message to the faltering opening pair, Indian skipper Rahul Dravid on Saturday said he would not hesitate to take tough decisions for the series-deciding third cricket Test against South Africa in Cape Town.
After the disappointing 174-run defeat in the second Test here, Dravid said that managing the resources would be a priority for the team in the next match starting January 2.
"Any decision which is going to help the team would be taken irrespective of what the decision is," the Indian captain said.
Both the openers -- Wasim Jaffer and Virender Sehwag --have been big failures in this series but it would call for a strong decision to put Sehwag on the bench as he is still averaging over 50 in Test cricket and has been a regular in the side for the last six years.
"Two of our priorities going into the final Test are to look at our top order batting and manage our resources," said Dravid.
The Indian captain hinted at a possible change in the bowling line-up, which could see the inclusion of seamer Munaf Patel in the final eleven for the third Test.
"The three fast bowlers and a spinner have done a lot of hard work and we have to manage them well," Dravid said.
Dravid admitted that batting let the team down here as they conceded an 88-run first innings lead. The Indians failed to bat out the final day to preserve their 1-0 series advantage.
"We needed to bat 75 overs on Saturday and could not do it. It was disappointing. But having said so, they bowled in better conditions. It was overcast in both the innings when they bowled to us.”
"We could have played better on the second day and third morning. Looking back, it was an advantage lost," Dravid said.
Looking at the positives, Dravid said but for the final day, his side provided a tough challenge to the hosts.
"It was not one-sided and we kept it close for most of the match except towards the end when they played better cricket and pushed ahead of us," he said.
Dravid praised Mahendra Singh Dhoni for his resilience in the second innings even though the wicketkeeper played an indiscreet stroke to get out just before the tea break.
"I think he had batted well till he made that mistake. He is showing a lot of improvement, he is learning and adapting his game. As time goes on, he will get better at understanding the game. I can sense he is learning from mistakes and curbing his natural instincts," he said.
With the third and final Test a little more than 48 hours away, Dravid said it was a blessing in disguise as it would force his unit not to "brood over" the loss at Kingsmead.
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