India's Dravid hoping for third time lucky

India head into Saturdays T20 World Cup 2024 final against South Africa hoping it will be third time lucky as the cricketing powerhouse looks to deliver a world title after successive defeats in finals The combination of coach Rahul Dravid and captain Rohit Sharma experienced the double disappointment last year of defeat in the World Test Championship final and the 50over World Cup losing both to Australia The country which more than any other popularised the shortest form with the hugely successful Indian Premier League now stands on the brink of their second T20 World Cup title and first since the inaugral edition in 2007 Dravid who is standing down as coach after this tournament prefers to view the two runnersup spots as a positive sign of the teams consistency across formats I think its good that we are consistent and playing good cricket For many years especially in the last year being number one in all three formats playing in the finals it gives a lot of credit to the boys who are Test cricketers who are our oneday players and also our T20 players Indian cricket has shown a lot of consistency and it is a very happy thing And if we play well and if we have the rub of the green then we will win he said The 50over World Cup defeat was particularly painful with the expectant home crowd in Ahmedabad expecting a celebration but witnessing Australia win with seven overs to spareAlso ReadOptimism abounds as India fans pin hopes on World Cup titleDravid doesnt believe there is a need to approach T20 World Cup 2024 final at Kensington Oval any differently than for last years ODI defeat however I thought we were very well prepared in that final in Ahmedabad as well We had done all the things we had ticked all the boxes and on the day the other team played better and thats part of the sport he saidThe other team that is coming there to play has also obviously reached the final because theyre a good team and theyre playing very good cricket as well So they have as much right to win it as we do But we hope that we will play better cricket on the day he added South Africa certainly fit that description like India they head into the final unbeaten throughout the entire tournament South Africa are looking for their first World Cup title having never managed to clinch in either format since their return to international cricket in 1991 But Dravid doesnt think that pressure of South Africas long wait which was punctuated only by a Champions Trophy win in 1998 will add extra pressure Its not that the same players have been playing since 1991 Many players have come and gone I dont think that really matters I cant speak for any of them I dont think players go in keeping the baggage of the past and what has happened in the past he said Every day is a fresh day Players are very good at moving on from things of recognising things So yes I think just as we will move on from Ahmedabad Im sure they will not be thinking about history and it will be a fresh day he said The surface in Barbados should be one of the more battingfriendly surfaces in what has been a lowscoring tournament and Dravid expects an entertaining spectacle Two good teams two teams I think that everyone will agree that probably the top two teams in this tournament played the best cricket I think in this tournament both South Africa and India So deserving finals for both the teams and hopefully its a great game of cricket and hopefully we fall on the right side he saidWith agency inputs