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Fletcher's tips helped my game: Dravid
Enjoying a golden run having scored five tons in less than six months, Rahul Dravid on Monday gave credit to chief coach Duncan Fletcher for his tips which has proved to be invaluable.
The 38-year-old who scored his 36th Test century wants to make most of his brilliant form.
- Dravid highest Test run-getter in 2011
"I worked with Duncan (Fletcher) a little bit. He has suggested a few things which are helping. He can read the game quite well.
"It's good to have him around. He suggested a couple of things which are helping," Rahul who is now the highest run-getter in Tests in 2011 said at the day end media conference.
'I am really trying to make it count'
Asked whether he has been doing something differently, Dravid said: "No... But the Jamaica century gave me confidence. I just carried on from there. I did not change my technique much."
He stated that he wants to make best use of this good patch.
"It feels as if I am in some form. I am in a good patch. I'm in good space with my game and mentally as well. I am really trying to make it count and let it last as long as I can," Dravid stated.
'I had been through a tough time'
He sounded cautious about how things can just radically change from being good to worse as he has seen numerous ups and downs in his career.
"I had been through a tough time. But I feel good... Even in the nets, I feel quite relaxed. Just want to make it count till it lasts. Cricket it's a funny game, you never know when the tough time is round the corner. But as long as you have a good time going, you got to keep it going."
Asked whether he was targetting 40 Test centuries, Dravid said: "Not really. I never thought I would get to 36. So not putting a number to it. We will see it what happens. As I said it's a good space to be in and I just want to keep this going."
'It's great to be a No. 3'
Dravid further said with the rapid fire start given by the opening duo of Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir, the job for the middle-order gets easier.
"Definitely it does help. It makes a big difference when you have openers like Viru and Gauti. They are terrific. It's great to be a No. 3.
"More often than not they give us good starts. The way they play in such a rapid place, it makes it a lot easier for the middle-order."
'I don't think too much about numbers'
Another 21 runs would have taken him to the 13,000 Test runs which has only been scaled by Tendulkar but Dravid who is
the second highest scorer in Tests said he never chased records.
"I don't think too much about numbers, averages and statistics. Just try and focus on preparation. Get into the right frame of mind, every time I play. Sometime I succeed, sometimes I don't."
But he said he was disappointed for not having batted the whole day.
"I was just disappointed. I batted the whole day which was nearing an end. It was little disappointing. It would have been nice to start fresh tomorrow."
'None of those centuries were easy'
Dravid didn't wish to compare current match's 140-run stand with Laxman with the epic partnership of 2001 as conditions were different. However among the centuries he has scored at the Eden, the two against Pakistan are a lot closer to his heart.
"None of those centuries were easy. In the context of the game, the 180 is the most celebrated one under tough condition and attack. It (the 180 against Australia) was a very different situation, a different circumstance.
"We (Dravid and VVS) batted many times together after that. Idea is to build a good partnership and put the team in a good position. It was nice to bat again with VVS at the Eden."
"The hundreds in each innings against against Pakistan are also very dear to me. Those knocks were literally match deciders. We will see how this goes. Relatively it was the easiest."
'I can rotate the strike'
On his good coordination with Laxman, he said: "We have been batting with each other for so long. We don't talk to each other a lot in the middle. We hardly talk in the middle."
"He is a stroke player. He looks to put pressure on bowlers in a different sort of way than Viru.
"It makes it little easier at the other end. I can rotate the strike. Today we batted quite well together nearly at the same pace."
'I've my unique style and concentrate on it'
Dravid said that his style of batting is unique and he doesn't compete with anyone.
"I've my unique style and concentrate on it. I don't try to compete or bat with someone else. I do what works best for me. I work on that as it has got me success and I don't want to change much on that."
For the first time in a Test innings, Dravid had hit two sixes.
'It's about the ability to pick up length'
Quizzed on his "attacking prowess", the Rajasthan Royals player said in jest that its the IPL that has brought the big hitter out of him.
"It's a kind of a format when you are hitting shots most of the time. I guess you are practising a lot of hittings for six weeks. A bit of that does rub on."
"For me, I think I can play at a good pace when things are going well for me. It's not about hitting sixes. It's about the ability to pick up length and going forward and hitting the balls and hit those boundaries."