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Boys responded to the challenge well: Dravid

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Press Trust of India Hyderabad
Rajasthan Royals skipper Rahul Dravid is extremely content with the way his players performed against Sunrisers Hyderabad following the shock spot-fixing scandal that engulfed his team.

Rajasthan took field a day after three of their players were arrested by Delhi police on the charges of spot-fixing.

"There is no point brushing things under the carpet. Tough couple of days for everyone concerned. But, I was happy the way boys responded to this challenge. It was not easy for all of them," Dravid said after his side's 23-runs defeat.

"But, I think once we crossed the line, I could sense that everyone was playing to win, everyone wanted to do their best, everyone was trying to put up a really good show for our fans. We had some great support. It was really a pleasure to lead the team," he added.
 

Dravid also appreciated the way the Hyderabad spectators supported them.

"It is always great to play in Hyderabad. The crowd was terrific today. They supported Sunrisers but they were also supportive of good cricket from our side. So, it's great to play in Hyderabad. I wish the wicket was better," he said.

Dravid said his team could not adapt quickly to the conditions while the home side played well to outsmart them.

"I thought we did the first half of the game quite well. We always knew that in Hyderabad even 135 would be very difficult to chase. But we have been batting quite well lately, chasing, so we thought we might be able to do that.

"But, I think credit to Sunrisers, they bowled really well in that middle period. Between the fifth and 10th over, we got only 12 or 13 runs, we lost two wickets. I think that's where we really lost the game. They play well in these conditions. We did not adapt as we could have to these conditions," he said.

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First Published: May 18 2013 | 12:05 PM IST

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