“It was disappointing to get out in that fashion, especially towards the end of the day and towards the second new ball. But the shot was on, I had played it a little earlier as well. The thing with shots like that is that when you connect, it’s okay; otherwise, you end up looking stupid. There is a fine line between trying to be positive and throwing it away. We have discussed trying to be positive in our mindset.

“Sometimes, when you are looking to be positive, you will make a few mistakes. It is disappointing to have got out towards the end of the day, but there is a lot of cricket left, a lot of fighting to be done,” said Dravid, who turned 35 five days back.

Asked if India would have taken 297 for six at the start of Wednesday, he replied, “We would have taken four down for 300, it would have made us happy. But we can take a few positives from today. There were some good fighting performances, the boys showed a lot of character. We have still got some batting left, and if we can get to 400, it will be a good score.”

‘Extreme heat’

There had been much talk about the playing strip before the Test. “It will be interesting to see how it pans out. There are a few cracks, but the pitch is very hard,” was Dravid’s perspective. “If in this extreme heat the cracks open up, then even quicker bowlers will be dangerous in the fourth innings if it plays up and down. It is now a very good cricket wicket. The ball came on much quicker than in the last two Tests. There was something in it for bowlers willing to bend their backs, and there were a lot more scoring opportunities. Personally, I prefer a track like this where you can play shots all round rather than the low and slow tracks where the back foot shot are cut out.”

Happy to be back at number three, the right-hander observed, “I am familiar with that position, in that sense it was nice to be back there. It was also nice that we got off to a good start. The openers played positively, played their shots and took their chances. It helps when you come in with 50-60 on the board, it definitely gives you a psychological advantage.

“I have done well and badly at this position. You can’t attribute scoring runs to the position, there was a lot of hard work and battling there. The position doesn't get you runs.”

Dravid had a pat on the back for Brett Lee, who finished the day with three for 64. “He was their stand-out bowler. He is improving all the time. He has always been quick but in the last one and half years, he is also bowling in the right areas and making the batsmen play. He is thinking a lot more. Playing him is a good challenge.”