da fazobetai： India coach says England were “a little bit on the back foot” last year but are “playing really good cricket” right now
da pixbet： ESPNcricinfo staff20-Jun-20221:00
‘England will be a bit different to when we were there last year’
A Test match to be played nearly a year after its original date, the series on the line, two different-looking squads with new captains and coaches and World Test Championship points to be grabbed: India head coach Rahul Dravid is looking forward to all of it.The last Test of the five-match series – which India currently lead 2-1 – that abruptly came to a halt last year at Old Trafford will now be played at Edgbaston starting July 1. Given the changes in the two line-ups and England’s recent 2-0 series win against Test champions New Zealand – with one match left yet – Dravid said the dynamics of the series won’t be the same.Related
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“In terms of the Test match, it is obviously going to be exciting,” Dravid said on Sunday in Bengaluru. “For us it is a one-off Test match, but it’s WTC points. It’s a series on the line for the guys who played a part in it [last year], and they are very keen to try and win that series and do well. So looking forward to that.”It is always lovely a Test match in England; the crowds are going to be fantastic. You expect really good crowds in England when you play Test cricket there. And England is playing really well at the moment. I mean they are playing really good cricket.”It’s probably a bit different to when we were there last year when England was probably a little bit on the back foot. But they have played couple of good games [against New Zealand], and we have got a pretty good squad as well. Hopefully it will be a good match. [I] love watching Test cricket, love playing it, love coaching it. Looking forward to it.”The India squad – barring those who featured in the T20Is against South Africa, and Dravid himself – arrived in England last week, and will play a four-day warm-up in Leicestershire starting Thursday.Compared to last year, when Ravi Shastri was coach, Virat Kohli was captain and Ajinkya Rahane was vice-captain, Dravid is the new coach now, Rohit Sharma the new captain, and KL Rahul the vice-captain, although there are question marks around his fitness for the Test.England, too, have a new management in captain Ben Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum, and are fresh from beating New Zealand, the highlight of which was their audacious five-wicket win at Trent Bridge where they chased down 299 at nearly six an over on the last day.
