The restless anxiety that had threatened to consume Rahul Dravid in the early part of the tour would appear to be history now. The Karnataka right-hander had batted with some authority and comfort in the second innings of the Sydney Test before Steve Bucknor intervened; he built on the confidence garnered from that knock with a fluid 62 against the ACT Invitational XI here on Thursday.
Later in the evening, Dravid said he felt the rhythm coming back. "I feel like I am batting well, batting a lot of time. Also, my timing wasn't as good as I would have liked it to be have been early on. Now, I feel like it's slowly coming back. I was quite happy with the way I batted in the second innings in Sydney, and I was happy with the way I batted today as well," the former skipper, who batted at number four, told newsmen.
Dravid had made a battling half-century in the first innings in Sydney, linking up with VVS Laxman in a 175-run stand that helped India post 532. "In the context of the score, it was an important innings," he observed. "It was essential to get through the early new-ball period. It was a bit of hard work, but Laxman was brilliant at the other end and he took the pressure off me. I recognised my role, what I needed to do in that situation, and I am glad with the way it came off. I was happy that we got 175 runs together, which laid the foundation for what we thought was a big total."
Throwing light on periods like in the first Test in Melbourne when he batted long without any returns, Dravid remarked, "Sometimes, there is a lot of ball-hitting straight to the fielders. Sometimes, it is not so much about the dot balls you play as the inability to pierce the gaps and find the boundaries. At the end of the day, if you face a hundred balls and put six or seven of them away for fours, it does make a difference."
The former skipper had a word of advice for Yuvraj Singh, wondering where his next run will come from. "Worry is a strong word to use," he replied when asked if the left-hander's lack of runs worried the team.
"I am sure he would like to get a lot more runs, it will help his confidence. He will get another hit here, and I hope he utilises it,” the Bangalorean said.
Dravid was asked if the reshuffling of the batting order to fit Yuvraj in might be affecting the Punjab left-hander. "I don't think that should play on his mind," answered Dravid.
"Just two Tests back, he made a brilliant hundred against Pakistan. He must look at that, as well as his one-day success in the last year or so, and take confidence and the positives from that. He must not worry about the bad scores here but have belief in himself,” he said.