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NEWS India-Australia-West Indies Tri-Series>Dravid blames it on rain and changed mindsets 16th Sept 2006 22.46 IST By Agencies Defending his side's batting collapse in the tri-series match against Australia in Kuala Lumpur today, Indian skipper Rahul Dravid said the revised target in the rain-ruined encounter affected the mindset of the players. "It's always tough for the batsmen as the mindset becomes different. You come out differently for a 50-over game where you play safe. But when rain intervenes and you come out to score 6.5 runs per over, then it changes the whole mindset," Dravid said after the match.
Dravid, however, did praise the Australian bowlers. "It's always difficult to play the new ball. They bowled in good areas and got wickets," he said. Dravid also had a word of encouragement for the Indian bowlers for pulling the team back into the match in the middle overs. "We bowled well today, especially in the 20-40 overs period during which we pulled ourselves back into the match. Harbhajan bowled well and Viru (Sehwag) gave him good support," he said. However, he expressed disappointment over missing out on opportunities to play a full game for quite some time. "We had a good knock with the bat the other day and our bowling was good today. But, we have missed the last 6-7 games due to rains and it's quite frustrating," he said. The Bangalorean was happy that the two points gained from today's tie would keep India in the run for the title. "We were disappointed to lose the first match to West Indies by Duckworth-Lewis system. It's good that we got two points today and that will keep us alive for the tournament. Hopefully, we will get a full match to showcase our talent," he said. Dravid added that today the batsmen could have done better but the rains made their task almost impossible and praised Mitchell Johnson . "We probably rushed it a bit. Johnson bowled well but conditions favoured him," Dravid said. "He had the new ball twice and placed the ball in the right areas. He could also seam well. Suddenly having a scoring rate of seven was not easy and playing the new ball was challenging. "Moreover, everytime you have to keep in mind the powerplay and how many overs are left, and also keep in mind the runs and the D/L formula. "We could say we were relieved that we got away with two points. But we were disappointed that we did not get 50 overs. The rains made it tough, one can't do anything about it." "One more washout and we will be out of the tournament. We are focussing on a good game of cricket. Hopefully we can get 100 overs of cricket." He praised his bowlers for containing Australia to a modest total after they had got off to a strong start. "The way we came back, Harbhajan Singh and Virender Shewag controlled the middle overs well. Munaf Patel and RP Singh also bowled well," he said. "We are bowling better (than in the match against the West Indies). It is critical to bowl well the first 20 overs. It is important for the seamers to give us a good start." Dravid also defended Irfan Pathan who conceded 32 runs from his four overs in exchange for the wicket of rival captain Ricky Thomas Ponting . "Irfan has struggled a bit. He was not able to bowl in the right areas... We want Irfan to bowl better. We have to nurse him through this period," the skipper said. "He had bowled so well against Sri Lanka and Pakistan . He is trying hard. Hopefully he will fight back." He said Suresh Raina was chosen ahead of Mohammad Kaif , who had to make way for Yuvraj Singh , based on current form. Also View In-Depth Coverage: India-Australia-West Indies Tri-Series Team Page: India Team Page: Australia | LIVE CRICKET COVERAGE NEWS ~ Gilchrist has no plans to retire after World Cup ~ Ganguly's new batting approach may cost him sixer record ~ India 'squash the Orange' in World Cup warm-up game ~ Symonds gets a new hairdo for World Cup ~ Dhoni readies himself for stand-up act at World Cup (more in NEWS) FACE-TO-FACE ~ 500-mark a possibility in World Cup: Hayden ~ Minnows add charm to World Cup: Dravid (more in FACE-TO-FACE) COLUMNS ~ Will Sri Lanka replicate 1996 World Cup success? (more in COLUMNS) OFF-THE-FIELD ~ Ganguly again the darling of corporate world ~ Ganguly roped in as brand ambassador of Puma (more in OFF-THE-FIELD) PLAYERS Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble (more PLAYERS) TEAMS India, South Africa, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Australia, West Indies, Zimbabwe, England, New Zealand, Bangladesh, Kenya, Holland | 
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