India Eyeing ICC Title as Dravid Praises Team's Consistency

India's head coach Rahul Dravid has expressed optimism about the team's chances of winning the T20 World Cup, citing their consistent performance in reaching three ICC finals within the past year. Dravid believes that a combination of intelligent gameplay and good fortune will enable India to secure a long-awaited ICC championship.

Throughout the current T20 World Cup, India has demonstrated their superiority, mirroring their performance in the ODI World Cup held in their home country the previous year. However, in that tournament, they stumbled at the final obstacle against Australia.

Rohit Sharma and his team are now set to face South Africa in the final at Barbados' Kensington Oval. They are determined to clinch a ICC title, a feat they last achieved during the 2013 Champions Trophy.

"It is a good thing we have been consistently playing good cricket. We have been in finals in all three formats and credit goes to the players. If we play well and rub of the green goes (our way) we will surely win," Dravid said.

Despite the swift journey from Guyana to Barbados following their semifinal victory against England, Dravid expressed confidence in the team's mental readiness for the upcoming contest.

"In terms of our preparation, we've just got one day in the middle, so it's unlikely we're going to be having practice. It's just about all the guys getting into ensuring that physically, mentally, tactically we are ready for the game."

Dravid emphasized his team's readiness for the crucial encounter at the top. "Those are the things that we can control, that we are fresh, that we've looked after all our niggles, if there are any. We've done all our tactical preparation and we're mentally relaxed and excited and looking forward to the game."

In 2023, India suffered two devastating losses in ICC finals. They were defeated by Australia in both the World Test Championship (WTC) final and the ODI World Cup final. Dravid believes that the team has learned from these heartbreaking experiences.

"No, nothing. I thought we were very well-prepared in Ahmedabad (ODI WC). We ticked all the boxes and, on that day, the other team played better. That's part of the sport. The other team that's coming there to play has also obviously reached the final because they're a good team and they're playing very good cricket as well. So, they have as much right to win it as we do, but we hope that we'll play better cricket on the day," he said.

Dravid also praised the team's collective effort in preparing for this prestigious event, highlighting their ability to adapt to various situations. He acknowledged the hard work put in by the entire squad leading up to the tournament.

"I think what's really important is that we've done really well as a group. This whole tournament we have shown the ability to adapt, to recognize what is a good score. We played very differently in New York, then we played in St. Lucia, then we played even in Barbados when I thought that the game was quite slow."

"I'm just hoping that whatever we come up against, we will have the ability to recognize it and be able to play accordingly, as we've done in the last three games," said Dravid.

Tags: #T20WorldCup, #India, #SouthAfrica, #RahulDravid, #ICCFinals