Legend of cricket Rahul Dravid guiding Indian team at U-19 world cup

India coach Rahul Dravid at Bay Oval nets yesterday. Photo / Andrew Warner

India may be favourites to take out the ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup final against Australia at Bay Oval on Saturday, but they are taking nothing for granted.

The young superstars of the game do not have far to look for guidance with one of the greatest batsmen to ever pad up as coach.

Legendary batsman Rahul Dravid, 45, is delighted with how well his team has adapted to the different conditions in New Zealand.

"All of our team really have never been to New Zealand before, and for a lot of them it is their first time out of the country," he said.

"So for them to have adapted over the last five weeks the way they have both from a bowling and a batting perspective has been really pleasing. The other thing is just the spirit in the camp has been really good, and everyone is keen to learn and embrace what this tournament has to offer.

"From a coaching perspective that is something that has been really heartening."

India can get better despite being relatively unchallenged through pool play and the finals series, Dravid said.

"You can always keep improving. We believe we could bat better in phases of the game and although we have bowled really well in this tournament, we know we can get a few more things right and play a really good game on Saturday."

Dravid managed to keep all the hype about last weekend's IPL auction in check with seven of his young charges picked up by franchises and others disappointed to miss out.

"It was challenging. There is no doubt about that but not so much from the boys' perspective but from the messages and the expectations they get back from home," Dravid said.

"The boys are pretty relaxed about a lot of these things. An auction happens every year, and they have a long career ahead of them so missing out on playing in the IPL at this stage really does not have a big impact on their careers."

Australia are coached by former fast bowler Ryan Harris and are well-organised in all phases of the game.

"They are a very good team. We played them in the very first game in the tournament, and they have kept improving from there and kept getting better as a team," Dravid said.

"Australia is always competitive and a strong team. At this age, it is not easy to do a lot of analysis on players because you don't have that much data. But we have tried to focus on our skills and our execution. We believe if we get that right then hopefully we will be competitive on Saturday."

The facilities and playing conditions at the Bay Oval have impressed Dravid with the young Indians enjoying the extra pace and bounce of the New Zealand wickets.

"It has been exceptional this whole tournament. The wickets have been absolutely excellent, the practice facilities superb especially here at the Bay Oval. It has been top class.

"Irrespective of results this was always going to be a great learning curve for our young boys. Hopefully, they will be better cricketers for it."

ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup final
India v Australia, Bay Oval, Saturday, 2pm start
Free entry.