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APJ Abdul Kalam with Indian cricketers
India win the Adelaide Test
PHOTO: ‘Grateful’ Virat Kohli explains how dreams come true with a throwback image
Photo: Virat Kohli remembers old times with Rahul Dravid
Rahul Dravid has been Indian cricket’s 911. In every crisis situation, including jobs other team members did not want to do, he was the go-to man. He was India’s quiet saviour in the dressing room as much he was the rescuer out in the middle — a quintessential team man.
Through his career Dravid had found many of his exploits getting overshadowed by a team-mate. On his Test debut alongside Sourav Ganguly at Lord’s in 1996, his innings of 95 was eclipsed by Ganguly’s 131; in the following Test, he got 84, but hundreds by Tendulkar and Ganguly stole the limelight. When he scored his first One-Day International (ODIs) in 1997, Saeed Anwar’s record 187 stole the thunder. In the epic 2001 Kolkata Test against Australia, which India won in Riplesque fashion afterfollowing 274 behind, Dravid’s 180 was outshone by VVS Laxman’s 281.
Dravid was a batting grammarian who stayed committed to the tenets of the coaching manuals. Even though he scored 10,000 runs in ODIS, he kept faith with orthodox methodology. “Dravid was akin to an elegant exposition of mathematical arguments or grammatical structures, timeless in significance, enjoyable to the connoisseurs of the subject,” as Arunabha Sengupta succinctly put it.
He batted with the patience of a monk: in India’s win at Adelaide in 2003 he batted 835 minutes in the Test while scoring 233 and 72 not out. Four months later at Rawalpindi, he batted 740 minutes for his 270 to help India win the series against Pakistan.
The end of his cricketing career was tragic. After three hugely successful series, Dravid had one poor series in Australia in 2011-12. The stinging criticism through the series was too much for a man who lived his life with dignity. He announced his retirement and left without any fanfare that has one has come to expect in the modern era. Even in retirement, he went an unsung hero.
Dravids’s volume of work over a 16-year period in Tests and ODIs combined is staggering: 508 matches, 24,177 runs, 48 hundreds and 396 catches. He was arguably the best Indian batsman after Sachin Tendulkar.
Dravid is universally acknowledged as one of the finest and most respected ambassadors of the game. The invite to deliver the Sir Bradman Oration, which he did with aplomb, underlined the cerebral side of his persona.
Rahul Dravid is an ornament to cricket.
H Natarajan
Career | M | In | R | NO | HS | Avg | BF | SR | 100s | 50s | 4s | 6s | Ct | St |
Test | 164 | 286 | 13288 | 32 | 270 | 52.31 | 31260 | 42.50 | 36 | 63 | 1654 | 21 | 210 | 0 |
ODIs | 344 | 318 | 10889 | 40 | 153 | 39.16 | 15285 | 71.23 | 12 | 83 | 950 | 42 | 196 | 14 |
T20s | 1 | 1 | 31 | 0 | 31* | 31.00 | 21 | 147.6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | -- | -- |
World Cup | 22 | 21 | 860 | 7 | 145 | 61.42 | 1147 | 74.97 | 2 | 6 | 76 | 3 | 17 | 1 |
Career | M | B | R | W | Avg | EC | SR | 5WI | 10WM | BBI | BBM |
Test | 164 | 120 | 39 | 1 | 39.00 | 1.950 | 120 | 0 | 0 | 1/16 | 1/16 |
ODIs | 344 | 186 | 170 | 4 | 42.50 | 5.483 | 46.50 | 0 | 0 | 2/43 | 2/43 |
T20s | 1 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
World Cup | 22 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | 2/43 |
Test Debut
England v India at Lord's Cricket Ground, St John's Wood, June 20, 1996
Last Test
Australia v India at Adelaide Oval, Adelaide, January 24, 2012
ODI Debut
India v Sri Lanka at The Padang, Singapore, April 3, 1996
Last ODI
England v India at Sophia Gardens, Cardiff, September 16, 2011
T20 Debut
England v India at Old Trafford, Manchester, August 31, 2011
Last T20
England v India at Old Trafford, Manchester, August 31, 2011
BJP tried to rope in the Karnataka born Dravid and Kumble to gain the support of the youth of the state of the assembly polls.
State election officials had earlier announced Rahul Dravid as ambassador and icon for May 12 Karnataka assembly polls to boost voter ...
Rahul Dravid will urge the people of Karnataka to vote in the state assembly elections on May 12.
With a base price of INR 20 lakhs, Gill underwent the hammer during IPL 2018 auctions and snatched a contract worth INR 1.8 crore from KKR.
"Rahul Sir told us that 'money will keep flowing in but just remember what is it that has helped you earn so much money and focus on ...
Dravid and his family had invested INR 35 crores but managed to receive just INR 20 crores.
Sourav Ganguly, in his book A Century Is Not Enough, recalls the events that led to John Wright’s appointment.
Sourav Ganguly, in his book A Century Is Not Enough, listed down his top five batting performances he has seen from Indian batsmen.
The social media timeline buzzed about Dravid being a true gentleman. What’s a false gentleman anyway?
The two teams who started the campaign together will be facing each other for the last time in World Cup 2018.
Ever wondered why Rahul Dravid wore jersey number 19?
Rahul Dravid has scored over 23,000 international runs for India.
Delhi Daredevils vs Kings XI Punjab - Match 22
23 Apr, 2018 20:00 IST
Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi
Mumbai Indians vs Sunrisers Hyderabad - Match 23
24 Apr, 2018 20:00 IST | 14:30 GMT
Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Chennai Super Kings - Match 24
25 Apr, 2018 20:00 IST | 14:30 GMT
M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru
Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Kings XI Punjab - Match 25
26 Apr, 2018 20:00 IST | 14:30 GMT
Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad
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27 Apr, 2018 20:00 IST | 14:30 GMT
Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi
Chennai Super Kings vs Mumbai Indians - Match 27
28 Apr, 2018 20:00 IST | 14:30 GMT
Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune
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Rajasthan Royals beat Mumbai Indians by 3 wickets
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Kings XI Punjab beat Kolkata Knight Riders by 9 wickets (D/L method)
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Royal Challengers Bangalore beat Delhi Daredevils by 6 wickets
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