“We beat Travis Head’s bat 15 times, he didn’t touch a single ball” – Rahul Dravid opens up on the role of luck in winning ICC events

Former Indian head coach Rahul Dravid admitted they didn’t have the rub of the green on their side after losing the ODI World Cup final against Australia by six wickets. Dravid said they went past Travis Head’s bat on 15 occasions but failed to produce an outside edge.

Head went on to punish the Indian bowlers as he smashed a blistering knock of 137 runs off just 120 balls with the help of 15 fours and four maximums. Ergo, Australia was able to comfortably chase down the target of 241 runs, which was a below-par score.

After posting 240 runs on the board, Indian bowlers got off to a gung-ho start, reducing Australia to 47-3. However, Indian pace battery could not get rid of Travis Head, who played a match-winning knock for his team.

“I remember whatever it was, we beat Travis Head’s bat 15 times — he didn’t touch a single ball. You know, things can go your way sometimes, but you have to stick to the process. I’ve had time to reflect on it. I’ve had time to reflect on a lot of things we’ve 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,” said Dravid at Ceat Cricket Rating awards.

Dravid mentioned how Suryakumar Yadav’s catch in the T20 World Cup final against South Africa was a game-changer.

“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,” Dravid added.

Meanwhile, Dravid retired back in 2011-12 and feels the Indian cricketers have been able to successfully carry forward the legacy as the team has been successful in all three formats of the game.

“I left in 2011-2012. These players have been able to carry the legacy forward. If you just look at the success that we’ve had over the last 12 years in all the three formats of the game, the time that after we left, it’s been absolutely phenomenal,” said Dravid.

“Very easily, clearly in a lot of the rankings, we’re always (No.) 1 or 2… we’re always up there with anyone. To be able to go out and win that, just the kind of cricket that we play, the level of skill of some of our players, the way that they approach the game, is great.”

After Rahul Dravid’s stint, Gautam Gambhir has taken over as India’s head coach.