'It’s hard to match Veeru' - Rahul Dravid

[Ashok]

Rahul Dravid has admitted that he had decided to open the batting "the night before the game", adding that it was a move made with the interests of the team at heart. Adding that it was not a long-term solution, Dravid said that this decision, like all others, was taken to give his side the best chance to win the game on hand.

"I'm not trying to make too many statements to my team," he said in the post-match press conference. "My team-mates know me pretty well by now. There's strategy involved and I am thinking of the best chance we have to get the right result. It's not false bravado out there. It's about who I think are the best people to play in different positions and situations. It's about what is best for the team. I may not get all my decisions right, but I'll try and take all of them so that it gives my team the best chance."

Though he revealed how much he had enjoyed the partnership, Dravid echoed Greg Chappell's view that the opening situation would be reviewed on a match-by-match basis. "I enjoyed the partnership," he continued, "but we'll have to see on what happens in 3-4 days' time to see who opens. I don't think it's a long-term solution. We have to try and see to pick a side to win a game. We'll asses that when we go to Faisalabad after seeing the wicket."

Hailing Virender Sehwag's effort as an "special" innings, Dravid spoke about the joy in watching such an aggressive batsman at the other end. "The pace at which Veeru scored was pretty exceptional," he added. "Some of the shots he hit were a joy to watch from the other end. Even thought it was a flat wicket, some of the shots he hit against the spinners were special. It's hard to match Veeru. He sometimes plays an incredible shot to a ball which I would have defended. It's important not to get carried away. I needed to ensure I didn't get out and put pressure on him."

He wasn't too perturbed with Sehwag getting out, with the duo falling agonisingly short of the world record opening partnership. "Veeru plays that way - attacking and positive. He played a similar shot to get from 199 to 200. Lot of times, when people get out, it looks like why did they play that shot .. but when he's on song there is some exceptional batting."

While not revealing about the composition of the bowling line-up for the next Test, Dravid, while not complaining about this pitch, hoped they would get a more sporting surface. "We need a good wicket that helps both batsmen and bowlers," he said. "I won't criticise the pitch as it's not easy to prepare one. It's tough to know what it will do, who it will support. I would like to think that the groundsman also wanted to prepare a good pitch. There are lot of factors involved - nature, soil, binding, clay, rolling ... it's not an exact science."