Dravid eyeing whitewash

Profiles / Editor / 13 May 2007 / Leave a Comment

India skipper Rahul Dravid was delighted with how they secured victory in the second one-day international against Bangladesh and is now targeting a 3-0 series whitewash.

Saturday's win in Mirpur gave the tourists a 2-0 lead with one to play, Dravid stating after the win: "It is very pleasing to win well. We needed someone to play a big innings and Gautam (Gambhir) responded very well with a century. A score of 250 was par but we got more than that.

"We would like to win 3-0 but we will also give those who have not played so far a chance in Chittagong."

Betfair punters believe that India will be celebrating a whitewash following next Tuesday's match in Chittagong. Dravid's men are trading at 1.21 to win the match with the hosts at 5.3.

Dravid felt that although the batsman were instrumental in setting up the win after posting a total of 284-8, the bowlers also deserved plenty of praise.

"The bowlers took up the challenge to see us through," he added. "It's nice to see (leg-spinner) Piyush (Chawla) get among the wickets on his debut. I am sure he has a bright future."

Meanwhile, Bangladesh skipper Habibul Bashar knows if they are to avoid the embarrassment of a 3-0 defeat they will have to bat much better in the final match.

Speaking about the performances of the top order in particular in Mirpur, Bashar gave an honest assessment.

"We were looking for big partnerships but lost wickets at regular intervals. India batted and bowled better than us and showed how good cricket could be played in these conditions."