Mumbai:
Team India head coach Rahul Dravid on Monday expressed his satisfaction with the team’s game against New Zealand and said the youngsters performing is a good sign for his side and it will help the Virat Kohli-led outfit become much stronger.
Mayank Agarwal’s heroics with the bat and Jayant Yadav’s four-wicket haul in the second innings helped India defeat New Zealand by 372 runs in the second Test.
“I think it was good to finish the series as winners, came close in Kanpur, not able to get that last wicket, had to work hard here.
This result seems one-sided, but right through the series, we were made to work hard. There have been phases where we were behind and had to fight back, credit to the team. Great to see the boys stepping up and taking their opportunities,” Dravid told host broadcaster Star Sports after the game ended.
“Yes, we were missing a few senior players. Credit to the guys who came in, Jayant had a difficult day yesterday, but learnt from it today. Mayank, Shreyas, Siraj, who doesn’t get a lot of opportunities. Axar, great to see his development with the bat in addition to what he can do with the ball,” he added.
With this win, India sealed the two-match series 1-0 and now Virat Kohli’s side will head to South Africa for three Tests and three ODIs, beginning December 26.
“It gives us a lot of options as well, helps us become a stronger side. We knew we had a lot of time, didn’t think much of the follow-on, also a lot of young batters in the side, so wanted to give them a chance to bat in conditions like these. Knew we may be in such situations in the future where we may have to force the pace in tough conditions. So it was a great opportunity and the luxury of time to be able to do it. Was great to help in the development of our players,” said Dravid.
“It’s a good situation to be in, we’ve had injuries in the lead-up, so we need to manage our players physically and mentally, it’s going to be a large part of my challenge, challenge too for the selectors and the leadership group. It’s a good selection headache to have, see young boys perform well. There’s a great desire to do well and everyone’s pushing each other. I hope we have more headaches to have, as long as we have clear communication and we explain to the players why, don’t see it to be a problem,” he added.
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