Rahul Dravid has long been known to be one of the few genuine gentlemen that the game has produced. And being one, he knows well to acknowledge a good performance even if it has come against his own team.
"Dhoni played some great shots; not much you can do if you're being hit but we could've bowled better on one side of the wicket and restricted the bad balls. He played well and you've got to give him credit for that. He finished off the innings well with Hussey. The way we bowled and fielded, we shouldn't have been chasing more than 155 or 160," said Dravid after his side lost to Chennai Super Kings.
The Bangalore Royal Challengers are lying in the lower half of the table and one does wonder how the confidence is in the side.
"It doesn't feel nice to lose but at least we were in contention today. This was the kind of game we thought we should've won. But from now on, we have to keep improving, correct our mistakes and move forward. We can't afford too many mistakes now," the Royal Challengers' skipper said.
Since the inception of the T20 format, few stars have risen and tasted fame like Pakistani batsman Misbah-ul-Haq has. With his international commitments being over, he was expected to play in the crucial clash against Chennai.
Dravid said, "It's tough to play too many foreign players because of the rule that allows teams to play only 4 of them per match. We've got many quality international players in our side but we can't fit them all in. We went in with what we thought was the best combination and I thought we got it right, just that we didn't finish the game well."
Dhoni's Super Kings have managed to astonishingly win all four of their encounters and one may attribute that to the skipper's tactical brilliance. The former Indian captain said, "I think they are playing some superb cricket, especially in the closing stages of the game. Against Mumbai they came pretty close, then against us. They looked like they were struggling at one point of time but they held their nerve. They've been able to finish close games and take it away from the opposition."
Bangalore is said to have passionate sports buffs and one has to admit that the support showered on the Royal Challengers is overwhelming. Dravid agrees, stating, "It's been a bit of a disappointment that this team hadn't been playing well in Bangalore. The crowd support has been fantastic with lots of people coming out to watch us. It was a good cricket match today. We weren't in contention in the previous two games but today we were very much in contention. Some good cricket was played by both sides, just that we ended up second best."
His personal form hasn't been up to his own high standards and experts may blame it on the format that doesn't suit his game. Knowing him to be the team man that he is, Dravid's supporters will know that he is more anxious about his team doing well than his own personal tally of runs.
Tags : Bangalore, Rahul Dravid,IPL, Indian Premier League,
