India vs England - "Can Always Look At Hindsight": Rahul Dravid Opens Up On Decision To Not Pick R Ashwin For Edgbaston Test

05.07.2022 - 17:07 sports.ndtv.com

The Indian cricket team surrendered to a meek loss at the hands of England in the rescheduled 5th Test at Edgbaston on Tuesday, with the hosts chasing down a mammoth fourth innings target of 378 runs in around 2 sessions to inflict a demoralising and humiliating loss at the Indians.

This is India's third straight loss in an away Test match in 2022 and signs are not great. Indian bowlers struggled in the fourth innings on a track that had very little to offer.

Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow made a mockery of India's third and fourth pacers Mohammed Siraj and Shardul Thakur. Head coach Rahul Dravid was asked if India missed a trick by not including veteran spinner Ravichandran Ashwin in the post match press conference.

Dravid said that when they looked at the pitch it had a lot of grass on it and hence they chose to go ahead with Shardul Thakur. "I think you can always look at the hindsight, look at the combinations of your team.

cricket England Cricket Team 2022 India vs England Test on Jonny Bairstow Rahul Dravid Ravindra Jadeja India

India on Friday defeated West Indies by three runs in the first ODI at the Queen's Park Oval in Port of Spain, Trinidad. After the match, West Indies legend and one of the finest of batters of all time, Brian Lara, caught up with India head coach Rahul Dravid. Lara, who hails from Trinidad, was one of the several former West Indies players who were in attendance at the stadium for the first ODI. Both Lara and Dravid crossed path as players several times during the 1990s and 2000s.

Watch: "No Shortage Of Action And Emotions": Rahul Dravid Looks Quite Animated During 1st ODI

The Indian cricket team has taken a 1-0 lead in the three-match series against West Indies after a close three-run win in Port of Spain on Saturday. After the visitors set a target 309 for West Indies, the hosts were reduced to 196/5 by the 37th over. However, Brandon King (54), Akeal Hosain (34*) and Romarioi Shepherd (39*) played crucial knocks as the match was decided in the last over. West Indies needed fives runs to win off the ball but Shepherd could take only one run (bye) off Mohammed Siraj.

Watch: You Can't Miss This Funny Avatar Of Rahul Dravid In Shikhar Dhawan's Latest Reel

After winning the three-match ODI series against England, the Indian cricket team is off to the Tour of West Indies. The Rahul Dravid-coached team will play three ODIs and five T20Is against the Windies. As India look to get their combination right ahead of the 2022 T20 World Cup, the tour to the Caribbean will be extra important. In the ODI series, most of the senior players have been rested with Shikhar Dhawan being the captain. During their journey to Caribbean, Dhawan made an insta-reel involving members of the squad.

Watch: You Can't Miss This Funny Avatar Of Rahul Dravid In Shikhar Dhawan's Latest Reel

"Pata Nahi Kya Hai...": Rahul Dravid's Epic Reply On England's 'Bazball' Brand Of Cricket Post Edgbaston Loss

The 'Bazball' remained a quite hot topic during India's rescheduled fifth Test match against England. While some used it to mock the England national cricket team on Day 2 of the match, the same topic was used by the fans of England cricket as a reply to the critics later. Notably, England were 84/5 at Stumps on Day 2 but they eventually registered a dominating seven-wicket win over India to level the series 2-2. Their attacking brand of cricket helped them beat the Jasprit Bumrah-led side in the game.

"Keeps Increasing Our Heartbeats With Certain Shots": Rahul Dravid On Rishabh Pant

While Rishabh Pant has not quite set the stage ablaze with his performances for India in limited-overs formats yet, there is no question that he can turn a match on its head in Test cricket. Even as India went down to England in the rescheduled fifth Test at Edgbaston, Rishabh Pant's whirlwind 146 in India's first innings had set the platform for the visitors to hold the advantage for long parts of the match. In the end, though, England chased down 378 - their highest chase in Tests - with relative ease as they continued with their own new aggressive brand of cricket.