Even as the world went gaga over Sachin Tendulkar’s twin achievement this month – twenty years in international cricket and 17000 runs – there was one Indian cricketer who quietly moved on to another landmark in international cricket. Rahul Dravid completed 11000 runs in test cricket, to go with his near 11000 in ODIs amidst a much more lukewarm response from the fans and the media.
It is to Dravid’s credit that he has been able to hold his own despite the towering presence of Tendulkar in the line-up. For years, he has held the number three position in test matches as his own, only once giving it up to VVS Laxman in that epic series of 2001 against Australia. And he replied back with a 180 batting at number six.
For many, Tendulkar is the god of Indian cricket. However, it is Dravid, who has toiled manfully for the cause of Indian cricket, not refusing to be overawed by reputation or the lack of strokes in his repertoire. At one stage in his career, Dravid was termed as a test match batsman only, but came back strongly to make ODIs his own as well. Under Sourav Ganguly’s captaincy, he selflessly kept wickets to add balance to the side, despite not being the first-choice wicket-keeper.
One of his best knocks was the match-winning double century against Australia at Adelaide. He followed it up in the second innings with an unbeaten half century that saw India through to a win. Another of his good innings was the 180 against Australia at Kolkata, when he batted through the day with VVS Laxman to overturn the result.
His best passage in test match cricket started in 1999 on the tour of New Zealand, when the rest of the Indian batsmen struggled to put bat to ball. Dravid smashed a couple of centuries in the same game at Hamilton. He also went on to then hit a century at Taupo in the ODIs to start a golden period that lasted for years. In 2008, he went through a form slump, and was sacked out of the ODI side, but came back strongly to get back his form and his place in the ODI side.
Comments