The 2023 Border-Gavaskar Trophy truly lived up to its billing and after India dominated the first two Tests in Nagpur and Delhi, Australia made quite a comeback in the third Test. Despite having retained the BGT, the hosts still needed to win the fourth Test in Ahmedabad to guarantee their place in the World Test Championship final.
As the proceedings continued, a draw in the fourth Test looked inevitable. India were forced to depend on New Zealand, who faced Sri Lanka, who were also one of the contenders to book a spot in the WTC final. Sri Lanka needed to win both of their Test matches against New Zealand to make it to the WTC’s summit clash, but their plans were hindered thanks to a marvelous innings by Kane Williamson.
When asked if they were keeping an eye on the game in New Zealand, India head coach Rahul Dravid said that it was not in their plans but they were forced to do so as the Ahmedabad Test concluded in a draw.
"We try to produce results in all the Tests we play. We wanted to keep the WTC qualification in our hands, and we were aware that we had to win three matches in the series to make the series between Sri Lanka and New Zealand inconsequential," Dravid said during an interaction on Star Sports.
"The first day we saw the wicket in Ahmedabad, we knew winning the toss would be crucial. Then the way Australia batted in the first two days, forced us to depend on the outcome between Sri Lanka and New Zealand," he added.
We were eagerly watching, hoping Sri Lanka doesn't win: Dravid
Dravid also talked about the atmosphere in the Indian dressing room as New Zealand constantly attacked Sri Lanka, aiming for a win instead of going for a draw. Kane Williamson’s fearless knock was the reason that New Zealand were able to clinch the victory in the first Test.
"We were stressed to see New Zealand attack and aim for a victory instead of thinking of a draw. We were discussing this among ourselves. But we had to make peace with that as New Zealand will definitely target a win rather than playing a draw. In fact we did watch the final 5-6 overs during lunch on the screen and it got really exciting," Dravid said.
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