Dravid and Laxman back young batsmen to step up

[vvvslaxman]

Important to weather the storm - Dravid -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- http://www.espncricinfo.com/west-indies-v-india-2011/content/story/520450.html Important to weather the storm - Dravid Sriram Veera at Sabina Park June 22, 2011 Comments: 67 | Text size: A | A There is an element of gravitas about Rahul Dravid that escalates on days like this. The hands hold the bat tighter, his visage gets more determined, the eyes drip with intensity, the self-admonishments when he plays a shot he thinks he shouldn't have increase, and he drags you with him into the match. You can feel the pressure of the scoreboard, the match situation, the misbehaving pitch, and the whole drama. It's his battle, but you can feel the intensity. "I love a contest," Dravid said. "It's because I love the contest [that] I still enjoy the sport. It's also good for me because we found ourselves a bit against the wall, and I had to fight my way through it … at this stage of your career you play because you love the contest, and [want] to make an important contribution to the team. It's a satisfactory feeling when you are in the middle of a situation [like this] and make a difference." Early in the morning, Ravi Rampaul tested Dravid's patience and skill. Some deliveries cut in from outside off, some straightened and a few reared up. "He kept things tight for me and it was a good contest. I knew I had to get through that 7-8 over [period] of good quality from him. But you need to back yourself to fight through it rather than throwing it away." He also had to take care the younger batsmen didn't throw it away. Late last evening, Dravid had to watch Virat Kohli being hustled by Fidel Edwards' bouncers. He repeatedly walked across to chat with his younger partner. He did that today as well with Kohli - who didn't last long - and the others that followed. "One of the things I tell these guys [the young players] is that you have to weather the storm, the intensity of a particular spell, that will last for 6-10 overs. In Test cricket you need to fight your way through that, and then things will become easier. You can get caught up a bit with things happening in the middle, people making a lot of noise, the ball flying around or spinning past you … I have committed that mistake, and thinking becomes really hard. But if you fight your way through that period, things will become a bit easier, like a bowling change or the bowlers will get tired." That he did. In the end, West Indies had to find a way around him to get at India. Dravid was the last man to fall. It was an observation from Ravi Rampaul, that was shared by Darren Sammy at the press conference, that told the tale of Dravid's determination. "Ravi told me that Dravid played just one pull shot. That too, when he was on 98." And it came at a time when he was in danger of running out of partners. Even then, it was followed by self-admonishment. "Yeah, obviously it was partly because of the pitch, and also because of the situation we found ourselves in," Dravid said, about playing just one pull. "We knew that we have to set up a pretty decent score from [where we were at] 50-odd for three. They bowled pretty well also. So it was a combination of factors that made me a bit circumspect; I had to ensure that I was there till the end, and make sure that we got a competitive score." Rahul Dravid is hopeful his 32nd Test hundred will culminate in a win for India at Sabina Park © Associated Press Enlarge Dravid is not getting any younger - how taxing does it get, especially when there are long breaks between Test series'? "It was tough physically, especially coming off after a long journey and getting up early in the morning," he said. "It was pretty hot out there, and I have not played a Test in a long time. You can do as much training as possible: sit on a bike in gym and run laps around the ground. But for [complete] batting and fielding fitness … you need to have practice. "Yes, it has been very challenging. If you do it consistently then you'll get a rhythm. With these breaks, I guess it takes some more time to get into it [the rhythm]. But it's not easy for someone like me who needs to bat long - I sweat a lot - so physically and mentally, it has always been a good contest. That's why I work hard on my fitness. I have the past experience to fall back upon", Dravid said. Sammy was lavish in his praise. "Dravid has scored over 10,000 [Test] runs. He knows exactly what to do in these kinds of situations." Dravid hoped that his effort will culminate in a win. "It's [sabina Park] a lovely place to tour, I have had some very good experiences as we won a Test match last time. So I hope this innings helps us to win this as well." Sriram Veera is a staff writer at ESPNcricinfo Feeds: Sriram Veera © ESPN EMEA Ltd.

[vvvslaxman]

These youngsters are blessed to bat alongside greats like Dravid, Tendulkar, Laxman. Hope they learn something about constructing test innings.

[Lord]

but then youngsters get confused.Dravid talks about playing through a hard spell n weathering the storm,Sehwag talks about thrashing them apart n breaking thier confidence..whom to listen?

[vvvslaxman]

but then youngsters get confused.Dravid talks about playing through a hard spell n weathering the storm' date='Sehwag talks about thrashing them apart n breaking thier confidence..whom to listen?[/quote'] I don't suppose Viru advises anyone :cantstop: . It is easier to follow Dravid's advice than follow Viru's style. Because later is near impossible.

[anotherhawkeye]

Viru is Viru. He is one of a kind, not someone that any youngster should try to copy. You are either born with it or not. OTOH, Dravid's advice is golden. Hope Mukund and Kohli learned something from him in this test.

[J P K]

'Have to adapt to facing short balls' - Dhoni MS Dhoni, the India captain, has said that the young batsmen are learning to adapt to the different conditions and trying to improve their art of dealing with short deliveries and extra bounce. India won the first Test but not without some batting hiccups. M Vijay didn't do well and in the middle order, the likes of Virat Kohli were tested by the bouncers. "A lot has been spoken about the short stuff and everything," Dhoni said. "But if you want to do well at the international level, you have to consistently face it. And you have to adapt yourself to the conditions. You might not be the best player of fast bowling or short-pitched deliveries but you have to negotiate it. If you are not getting out to the short delivery then it is fair enough. It doesn't really matter whether you look elegant or not. It's all about scoring runs. "That's where I think that if you are enjoying your cricket then it helps you to perform better and you get into positions where you can negotiate the bounce well. That is one area where the youngsters are trying to improve. I think because when the other countries when they come to India, they see turn and bounce for the spinners and most of them struggle." Vijay, who was suffering from a finger injury sustained during the pre-match training session in the nets, fell cheaply in both innings. Abhinav Mukund, the debutant opener, was better, and looked good in the second innings, but he failed to convert starts of 11 and 25. Asked a direct question about the performance of Vijay, Dhoni chose instead to answer it in a holistic way. "I think it's important to have a pool of openers," he said. "Because opening is one slot that you know, you may be a very good opener but at international level till you are tested, it's very difficult to say by playing domestic cricket you can really adapt to the Test conditions. You have different kinds of bowlers and it is very different. So it's very important to have a pool of openers and they should be given games. "I feel this is one area where the India A tours are very important because the youngsters who get exposure to international conditions and the upcoming players of different teams who might play for their respective countries. It's important to have them. Abhinav Mukund also looked positive in this game, which means we have quite a pool of openers where we can give them a fair amount of matches whenever we have chance and look to groom them, so that in the future, we can have a settled pair of openers. Now we have, Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir doing a great job for us." Those two were the slightly tougher questions about the possible problems that ail India. The rest of the conference revolved around the Test victory. Dhoni was happy that though India were without several important players for this series the team took responsibility and performed. "We missed quite a few key players in this Test match, which meant somebody had to take the responsibility and I'm glad the team took up the responsibility for the way we performed. At one stage, we were 85 for 6 in the first innings but you know again the lower order contribution was there. Suresh Raina batted really well with Harbhajan Singh and the rest of the tail contributed. "I think we have done really well over the last two years or so with the lower-order contribution and the same time, part-timers getting wickets when it's needed. I think this was a perfect example. We thought maybe we'll end up getting 150 or 200-odd runs but we ended up getting some more runs because of which we were able to get few more runs as lead and we ended up getting over 250 runs." In the second innings, Rahul Dravid guided India out of trouble and helped set up a target of 313. "Rahul as you know is an exceptional batsman. Very patient. He got 100 in 250 balls, which means you have to be very patient and push the bowlers to bowl in your areas and to your strengths. And I think that's what he did. He was patient for a long time and waited for the bowlers to bowl in his areas. That has been the pick of his innings. Not only in this one, but whatever innings he plays you know he just waits for the bowlers to pitch it in his areas. I think he was brilliant as usual." Dhoni also had words of praise for Praveen Kumar, who picked six wickets in the match, and was the pick of the Indian bowlers. "Praveen as we all know is a skilful bowler," Dhoni said. "He can swing the ball both ways and he is not someone who is up with the pace, he doesn't bowl 140-plus but he can definitely swing the ball and put the ball in the right areas, which means that he can confuse the batsmen as to play it or to leave it … It was not a wicket which was swinging a lot or seaming lot. Of course you know Praveen can swing the ball in any sort of conditions. He was brilliant. He bowled in the right areas. And that was the main reason why he got wickets in both the innings." http://www.espncricinfo.com/west-indies-v-india-2011/content/story/520549.html

[Rahul Dravid]

as others have said.. these youngsters are soo lucky to spend the same dressing room and play tests alongside Rahul.. and in England Sachin will be back... these two are the GODS of batting.... they better learn from them when they are there !

[ravishingravi]

Dravid and Laxman backs young batsmen to step up http://www.espncricinfo.com/west-indies-v-india-2011/content/current/story/521166.html

Laxman backs young batsmen to step upSriram Veera at the Kensington Oval June 28, 2011 VVS Laxman, who rescued India with a sublime 85 to help them reach 201, backed Virat Kohli and the openers, M Vijay and Abhinav Mukund, who haven't done well so far in the series, and said playing county cricket will help young batsmen adapt to different conditions and hone their skills. Twice in three innings Kohli has fallen to the short ball. However, Laxman believed Kohli would be the batsman to watch out for. "Today, it was unfortunate," he said. "Considering the bounce of the wicket, he expected that ball to rise more. It was an unfortunate dismissal. He is a fabulous cricketer and has improved as a batsman in the last two years. He has played well in various tough situations in ODIs. It shows he is improving with every match. He will be a great player to watch out for, a match-winner for the country." The openers haven't scored much either. Vijay, who failed in the first Test, fought hard for nearly two hours before he fell, strangled down the leg side. Mukund fell early, unable to cope with extra bounce off a delivery that jumped from short of a length. However, Laxman didn't see any cause for concern. "We've got talented openers. Abhinav had an excellent domestic season and Vijay has always grabbed his opportunities. It's tough playing in the West Indies, especially on wickets that are usually damp in the first couple of hours on the first day. They are potential match-winners." Laxman agreed when asked whether the youngsters would benefit from the experience of playing county cricket but wondered if the tight international calendar would allow them that opportunity. "It will be a great experience for a batsman to play county cricket. I enjoyed my time with Lancashire. But given the amount of time the cricketers are already playing, it doesn't give much opportunity. It will be great for a batsman because you get so many opportunities to play on different pitches, in different weather conditions and against different bowlers." Laxman also praised Suresh Raina, with whom he was involved in a 117-run partnership to lift India from the depths of 38 for 4. "Raina has practiced a lot playing the short deliveries. You could see that in Jamaica and here. He has played two important knocks. He played positively when the chips were down. It was great to see the way he approached the innings." The two batsmen didn't talk much at lunch, Laxman said. "That's the beauty of this Indian team. Irrespective of the situation, it's very relaxed. Someone puts his hand up." Laxman reached 8000 Test runs during his innings, but rued the fact that he couldn't carry on to reach a century and take India to a more competitive total. "Had we batted on, we could have got around 250 to 300, which would have been a very good score." It was yet another innings of substance in crisis from Laxman, who said such situations bring out the best in him. "It gets the best out of me, especially when we are in a terrible situation. The track was challenging and so was the situation. But I always regret not converting the hard work done into big hundreds. Still, I got into better rhythm especially after Jamaica." Laxman felt the pitch had some venom in the morning session but eased out once the sun came out in the afternoon. "It was a difficult wicket before lunch because it was slightly damp. They were getting bounce. After lunch, the wicket eased out a bit and it was nice for strokeplay. Raina came out positively and changed the momentum of the innings. That partnership was important but I think we threw away the hard work done after lunch. " While Laxman appreciated the 8000-run landmark, he said he could only savour it after retirement. "So many runs seem great once you retire. At the moment I am not elated. I was just disappointed not getting a hundred. Personally, it would have been satisfying had I got the hundred as those additional 15 to 20 runs would have got us to 250. The bowlers did well to get us right back in to the game. It is an evenly poised situation."