WTC Final 2023: Will coach Rahul Dravid’s stellar record at Kennington Oval inspire India to title triumph

Among the current crop of Indian players KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant have the best record at the venue but unfortunately both of them are absent from India’s 15-member squad due to their respective injuries.

Among the 15 India players in England for the WTC 2023, Virat Kohli has the most number of runs at the venue. In three matches, the superstar batter has scored 169 runs at an average of 28.16.

These are not impressive numbers and therefore the Indian team will have to look towards their head coach Rahul Dravid for inspiration. The former India captain and the original ‘Wall’ of India cricket has a stellar record at the venue.

Dravid played three matches at the Oval in London and scored 443 runs at an average of 110.75. Two of the five innings saw him score a hundred. On one occasion, the 50-year-old hit a fifty.

Dravid’s mind-boggling numbers at The Oval

In his first-ever innings at the venue in September 2002, Dravid slammed a double hundred (217) as the match ended in a high-scoring draw. The last time Dravid played at the venue, India lost by an innings and eight runs. The margin could have been bigger had Dravid not scored 146 off 266 while opening in the first innings.

Sachin Tendulkar is the second-highest run-scorer for India at the venue but the difference between his numbers with Dravid is massive. While Tendulkar did not score any hundred at the venue, he played a match more than Dravid and scored 272 runs at an average of 45.33.

Dravid’s predecessor Ravi Shastri is third on the list with 253 two runs in four matches at an average of 84.33. He slammed a hundred and a fifty at the Oval in London.

Most runs by Indian batters at the Oval in London

KL Rahul (249), Gundappa Viswanath (241), Sunil Gavaskar (240), MS Dhoni (230), Vijay Merchant (228), Kapil Dev (223) and Rishabh Pant (178) are ahead of Kohli on the list of India batters to score most runs at the Kennington Oval in London.

Rohit Sharma is the fourth on the list of active India cricketers to score most runs at the Oval. He has played just one match here and scored 138 runs including a second innings hundred. The knock had helped India pull off a 157-run win in 2021 despite getting bundled out for 191 in the first innings.

We are hours before the start of the crucial match and hopefully the apprentices will take important learning from their master and head coach Dravid.