Indian team defends Dravid  Sydney, Jan 21: The Indian cricket team today sprang to the defence of vice-captain Rahul Dravid who was fined 50 per cent of his match fee for changing the condition of the ball during the day-night clash against Zimbabwe in Brisbane yesterday. "Everyone knows who Rahul Dravid is. It was an innocent mistake which has been blown out of proportion," said captain Sourav Ganguly to the Australian media and paparazzi who descended in full strength at the Kingsford Drive Airport at Sydney this afternoon. The incident involving the player respected for his pure batting technique and the squeaky clean image has taken the cricketing community in this part of the world by storm. Dravid was hounded by the media and television crews who circled him, thrust microphones on his face and hustled the Indian vice-captain who maintained great calm. Dravid was charged under clause 2.10 of the ICC's code of conduct, which deals with "changing the condition of the ball", by match referee Clive Lloyd last night during Zimbabwe's innings in a match which India won by 24 runs. Dravid, however, escaped the maximum penalty of a two-match ban. Indian coach John Wright described the object, which Dravid was spotted applying on the ball, as a "sweet lozenge" and termed it an "innocent mistake" on the part of the player. (Agencies) Published: Wednesday, January 21, 2004 Back to Index