VIDEO: I feel we left a couple of runs on the board in each the innings, says India coach Rahul Dravid

Despite India’s snug 106-run within the second Test towards England in Visakhapatnam on Monday, head coach Rahul Dravid felt the crew fell brief by about 75 runs within the first innings and wasn’t in any place to place stress on the opposition.

“I think we left a few runs on the board in both the innings. In the first innings, 396 was under par. You win a toss, you have one guy who gets a double-hundred, you should be pushing 450-475 in these conditions,” Dravid stated, whereas additionally acknowledging that the crew had numerous younger batters who had been nonetheless determining the longest format.

Barring Yashasvi Jaiswal’s double-century, no batter might convert begins within the first innings, with Shubman Gill’s 34 being the subsequent finest rating. Similarly, within the second innings, Gill’s hundred was the one vibrant spot, with Axar Patel lending help with a gentle 45.

Though Gill struck two useful partnerships with Shreyas Iyer and Axar after the openers fell cheaply, India saved dropping wickets at common intervals, which Dravid feels didn’t enable the crew to place any stress on England.

“There was enough time in the game for us to just bat. We hadn’t decided to set any target. There wasn’t any stage in the game where we felt we could force the play. As soon we thought we could force the play, we lost a couple of wickets. I don’t think we were in any position, at any stage in this game, to ever think about putting pressure back on the opposition,” he added.

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India was bowled out for 255 within the second innings after dropping its final 5 batters for the addition of simply 35 runs. Set a frightening goal of 399, England set about getting there within the vogue it has gone about Test cricket within the final two years, with James Anderson even saying on Sunday that they had been seeking to overhaul the goal in 70-80 overs.

Dravid stated India had achieved ‘just a little bit better than the last game’ in tackling England’s model of cricket, typically termed ‘Bazball’, which the coach thinks has extra to it than simply slogging.

“They [England] are playing really good cricket. They have shown good skills. It is not wild slogging. Some of the shots they are playing require a lot of skill and ability. You can’t play attackingly and not have the skills to execute it. There is more to it than just attacking cricket. They know when to pull back and [when] attack.”

With the collection stage at 1-1, which Dravid says isn’t supreme, India will head to Rajkot for the third Test, starting on February 15, and brace for some ‘tough cricket’.

“Happy to be able to bounce back but we recognise it is going to be a fantastic series and some tough cricket will be played over the next three games,” Dravid stated.