Basseterre (St Kitts), June 27 (IANS) Indian captain Rahul Dravid appeared quite happy with the drawn outcome of the third Test against West Indies here Monday.
It did not matter so much that India had to give up their 392-run chase for victory. What mattered more was the way they came back from 159 for five in the first innings, he said.
'Laxman's innings, his partnership with (Anil) Kumble, the last-wicket stand between Harbhajan and (Munaf) Patel and the lower order showing fight, showing courage and character, all this gives you a lot of heart,' said Draid.
Asked whether he had given any instructions to M.S. Dhoni when he came in to bat in the second innings with India needing to score at about six an over for 24 overs, Dravid replied in the negative.
'I just told him to be positive - 'play your shots',' Dravid said, adding that it was not an easy wicket to play shots, not one where 'you could go smashing every ball'.
He felt that West Indian skipper Brian Lara setting a target of 392, and not something around 350, was a sort of back-handed compliment.
'Obviously he (Lara) felt we could chase down something like 350,' Dravid said.
Dravid himself felt that 392 was a tough ask. 'History tells us that 390 has never been done in the last day. It was always going to be a challenge, getting 4-1/2 runs per over on the last day,' he said.
'We thought we'd have a bit of a dip in the afternoon but after Dhoni got out, that was it,' he said.
When asked about Lara's remark that West Indies would go with a psychological advantage into the final Test, at Kingston, Jamaica, from June 30 - July 4, Dravid just grinned.
Lara, speaking to the press before Dravid, had said he was pleased with the performance of his team.
'The young players are proving themselves and I am proud of them,' Lara said. 'We are a better playing team than India at the moment. I'm happy with the progress this team has made.
The West Indies journalists and spectators will be surprised to see us last five days. We hadn't been doing that too often in recent matches,' the West Indies skipper added.
Lara also gave credit to the Indian team for saving the match.
'India had been under the gun for the first two days of the match. Credit to them for getting themselves out of a tight situation and actually getting within a sniff of victory,' said Lara.
Clearly, from what both captains have been saying right through this series, in which three matches have been drawn, in which neither side has been able to convert winning situations into actual wins, it appears they are hard-nosed realists.
They know the strengths of their players and, more importantly, their limitations. They are quite happy to get the best out of their boys.
If all they can manage with the best is a draw, so be it.
© 2006 Indo-Asian News Service | 
