We can beat Sri Lanka this time: Rahul Dravid

In an interview with DNA, Sri Lanka-bound Rahul Dravid says the key to stay atop the Test rankings is to stop worrying about it.

How have you prepared for the Sri Lanka series?
I had a good time off after the IPL. I started preparing recently for the series. I spent some quality time with the trainer at the NCA. Now I’m feeling good and looking forward to the series. Actually, I’m looking forward to some good practice in Sri Lanka. Hopefully we will have a good practice game. For me, that’s very important for the outcome of the series.

Was your preparation generic or series-centric?
It was a very general preparation. Nothing specific, actually. I spent time in the gym and I’m looking forward to that practice game before the series. We have a long series and season ahead of us.

Yes, a long series ahead. The Lanka tour followed by Champions League T20, followed by Tests against Australia. How do you adjust to the overlapping of the formats?
This is part of a professional cricketer’s life. We need to adjust to different formats. It is a challenge for a modern-day international cricketer to have the ability to switch the formats on and off and in regular intervals. One has to get used to dealing with it and prepare accordingly.

Last time when India were in Lanka, Mendis & Co had wreaked havoc? Are we better prepared this time around?
Look, theirs is not a one-dimensional attack. They have a quality bowling, Mendis or not. Sri Lanka are always a difficult team to play at home. But we can take confidence from the fact that we won a Test each in our last two away series against them. We could not sustain that success throughout the series though. May be we can do it this time. It is a question of maintaining the form right through the series. I think we have a good balanced side which is capable of beating them.

You say we can beat them but what will be the key factor for beating them?
There cannot be any single factor responsible for a win. It has to be all-round performances in all departments of the game. We have a good batting line-up but we need to put the runs on the board excel. And then we have to take 20 wickets and to do that we need to take half chances on the field. We can’t allow their batsmen to stay at the wicket too long. So it has to be an all-round effort. There are also non-cricketing aspects like adapting to the conditions. Luckily for us, most of our players have been to that place. So adapting to the Lankan conditions should not be a problem.

You bat after two ultra aggressive openers. Have you had to change your batting style to sustain the tempo they provide up front?
It depends on the start we get. The No 3 batsman’s role is a question of adapting to the situation of the game. Viru (Sehwag) and Gautam (Gambhir) have been giving us good starts lately. They have been prolific scorers. In a way, they take the pressure off me allowing me to bat the way I want.

Murali has retired — is it good news for us?
Murali is a great champion and a fantastic bowler. It’s a challenge to play against such players. Sri Lanka surely will miss the services of him after the Test. But he has been a great servant of Sri Lankan cricket.

Is there pressure on India as they have to defend the No.1 ranking in the series?
Personally, the ranking does not matter to me. We should not worry about it. That’s because, the rankings depend not only on your results but also the results of the other teams. As long we keep playing good cricket, the rankings look after themselves. We should be focusing on playing good cricket primarily than on the ranking.