Rahul Dravid : The Wall

[Sanguine Sridhar]

Lets discuss here about the Wall, Dravid!!

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Thanks,
Sridhar

[Sanguine Sridhar]

In 1991 he made his Ranji debut against Maharashtra. Batting at
number 7, he scored a masterful 82. He got his maiden first class
hundred in the next game against Bengal (134 at number 6). The next
year brought more success for Rahul as he scored centuries against
teams like Goa and Kerala. He got tremendous support from great
former players like Gundappa Vishwanath, K.K.Tarapore, Roger Binny and
Brijesh Patel. All this time he did not neglect his studies - he
studied at St.Joseph's College of Commerce and though he had to
remain absent from college for long periods of time, he maintained a
first class record throughout.

[Sanguine Sridhar]

In 1995-96 he broke into the international team for the first time
and since then he has delivered consistent and solid performances. He
is admired for his classy and technically correct batting. For a long
time he was labelled a Test batsman because of his low strike rate even
though he showed signs of some explosive batting - we all remember the
way he thrashed Alan Donald in a crucial match, driving the fearsome
bowler to despair. He has solved the problem of missing out on centuries
long ago. The New Zealand tour in Dec 1998 - Jan 1999 saw him come into
his own and cement his place in the One-Day team. No longer does he plod
around, wasting hittable balls. His strike rate is comparable with the
best and his average has also risen to a decent level. This shows his
strength of character, since he has come back strongly after being out
of the team for so long. At World Cup '99 he moved into the realms
of greatness with a fantastic performance which saw everybody singing
his praises. Today Rahul is an integral part of the Indian team, both
in One-Day and Test matches.

[Sanguine Sridhar]

Dravids biggest strengths are Patience,Confidence and Strong Leadership!!

[sgokulprathap]

Dravid as ODI Player
http://stats.cricinfo.com/guru?sdb=filter;playerid=2281;class=odiplayer

Dravid as Test Player
http://stats.cricinfo.com/guru?sdb=filter;playerid=2281;class=testplayer

[umaramesh]

Hi

Yet another innings from DRAVID which made India to regain test series in West Indies. No need to tell nature of the pitch where everyone struggled . I think he is most consistent batsman and proved his capabilitiy not only in subcontinent but outside also.
He is well ahead of Gavaskar/Viswananth/Tendulkar in terms of SCORING IN CRISIS SITUATION AND HELPED INDIA TO WIN.
CHEERS TO DRAVID. :clap: :thumbsup: :D

regards
ramesh :

[Sanguine Sridhar]

Go Go Dravid :thumbsup:

The Indian media has hailed captain Rahul Dravid as the country's best ever batsman after leading his team to a rare Test series victory in the West Indies.

India clinched their first series in the Caribbean in 35 years on Sunday when they won the decisive fourth and final Test in Jamaica by 49 runs.

The 1-0 verdict against Brian Lara's home team also enabled India to win a major series outside the sub-continent for the first time since the 2-0 success by Kapil Dev's men in England in 1986.

Dravid led from the front with 81 and 68 on a bowler-friendly Sabina Park wicket in which the highest team total was 219 and no other Indian batsman scored a half-century.

The 33-year-old, dubbed the 'Wall' for his impeccable batting technique, crossed the 9,000-run mark during the match to become the sixth highest run-getter in Test history.

Only Lara (11,505), Australians Allan Border (11,174) and Steve Waugh (10,927) and India's Sachin Tendulkar (10,469) and Sunil Gavaskar (10,122) have scored more Test runs than Dravid's 9,049.

The legendary Gavaskar and current superstar Tendulkar have long been regarded as the greatest Indian batsmen, but Dravid appeared to have leapfrogged ahead in the eyes of the media.

"If there were any doubts about Rahul Dravid being his country's greatest ever Test batsman, he dispelled them in the fourth Test," wrote the Hindu's cricket correspondent from Sabina Park.

The Indian Express concurred. "Let's say it once again here: Rahul Dravid is today the greatest batsman in Indian cricket, the finest in the world on all pitches," it said.

"Even Sachin Tendulkar will shake his head to that, clap his hands."

Since taking over as captain from Sourav Ganguly last October, Dravid has been in prime form, scoring a century or a fifty in nine of his last 10 Tests.

He was the quickest to 9,000 runs in Test history, achieving the landmark in his 176th innings, one less than previous record holder Lara.

Dravid rated the two half-centuries at Sabina Park as "probably two of the best I have played", but preferred to give credit to the entire team for the success.

"Winning the series is the most important thing," he was quoted as saying by the Indian media. "We played the better cricket right from the first Test. It's sort of nice that it all bore fruit in the end."

Dravid also heaped rich praise on match-winning bowler Anil Kumble, whose six for 78 in the West Indian second innings secured India victory.

"Anil is a legend, nothing he achieves surprises me," the Indian captain said. "Give him the ball and he will deliver more often than not."

The 35-year-old spinner took his career tally to 533 Test wickets, the fourth highest behind Australian record-holder Shane Warne (685), Muttiah Muralitharan of Sri Lanka (635) and Australian paceman Glenn McGrath (542).

India return home later this week for a short break before travelling to Sri Lanka next month for a limited-overs tri-series against South Africa and the hosts.

[manuel]

perseverance and patience is the key for his sucess besides this his conduct on & off the field ..has managed to stay away from all the controversies in indian cricket so far ..

He has always been in the team or if he is the captain of Indian team it is only by virtue of his performance unlike some people who uses the influence of their state politicians and their people who are in television media to constantly create peoples opinion about their exclusion from the team rather than showing their performance in domestic matches.

What makes Dravid truly great is the way he has handled fame & success .. he can easily be voted as the most good looking cricketer but still he has not fallen for any bollywood actresses - and again...... "unlike some".

[S.Balaji]

perseverance and patience is the key for his sucess besides this his conduct on & off the field ..has managed to stay away from all the controversies in indian cricket so far ..

He has always been in the team or if he is the captain of Indian team it is only by virtue of his performance unlike some people who uses the influence of their state politicians and their people who are in television media to constantly create peoples opinion about their exclusion from the team rather than showing their performance in domestic matches.

What makes Dravid truly great is the way he has handled fame & success .. he can easily be voted as the most good looking cricketer but still he has not fallen for any bollywood actresses - and again...... "unlike some".

I think your indirect target is Ganguly ......... If yes, its not fair as it was Sourav who was instrumental in buillding a challenging team when he took over from a disastrous Sachin in 2001 . Remember, he had to take over overnight when Sachin stepped out midway during that South African series in India. Sourav's captaincy was acknowledged by none other the great Steve Waugh who was matched bullet for bullet down under.
May be Sourav's weakness against the short pitched bowling led to his slide in test matches but his record in onedayers & as a captain in both forms are fair enough to stake a claim for the best captain till date

If someone has to be termed as a DISASTROUS CAPTAIN , it should be Sachin.

Even when you compare Dravid vs Sachin, I will rate Dravid far better in terms of saving matches & having played more useful innings

Today Dravid stands tall amongst his peers simply for his consistency & ability to score in all type of surfaces & against the best bowlers .

Hats off

[manuel]

I think your indirect target is Ganguly ......... If yes, its not fair as it was Sourav who was instrumental in buillding a challenging team when he took over from a disastrous Sachin in 2001 . Remember, he had to take over overnight when Sachin stepped out midway during that South African series in India. Sourav's captaincy was acknowledged by none other the great Steve Waugh who was matched bullet for bullet down under.
May be Sourav's weakness against the short pitched bowling led to his slide in test matches but his record in onedayers & as a captain in both forms are fair enough to stake a claim for the best captain till date

If someone has to be termed as a DISASTROUS CAPTAIN , it should be Sachin.

Even when you compare Dravid vs Sachin, I will rate Dravid far better in terms of saving matches & having played more useful innings

Today Dravid stands tall amongst his peers simply for his consistency & ability to score in all type of surfaces & against the best bowlers .

Hats off[/quote]


Yes I agree with you on those points
1) saurav Ganguly is the best captain "so far" - coz we have stat's to back them like most number of wins
2) He is also a good one day player coz he has got more than 10,000 runs and that is good amount of runs.

further i would like to add this -
1) if saurav is the best captain so far - well before him Azar was the best captain .. given a period of time to stay as captain then Dravid or any one else can also surpass that record and saurav's record would be forgotten as like azar's

what made saurav differrent is, by far he is the more expressive player on the field .. he would not shy away from expressing his disappointment or point of contention to the opponent players or team and no other indian player ..even in the present team has the ability to do that -- but that does not make any one, a great player.

Steve waugh when he left his captaincy and retired he was not a bad performer and even he had a good history of records but their management still wanted him to be out with the best interest of his country and notable point was that, he did not create a fuss out of it nor did he go to the press even though he was the most respected captain and player at that time-

[airtime2310]

Dravid is an idiot. He doesn't even know how to captain properly. Ganguly was so much better even though he never performed and was an idot. Ganguly Brought us to the fin of the Wc and lost.

[sgokulprathap]

:shock: airtime, even if u dont like a player, b cautious in using words against him.

[VinodKumar's]

http://blogs.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Between-the-Lies/entry/like-the-phoenix-dravid-rises

Advanced wishes to Great Wall of India ...

U rocks always :notworthy:

[VinodKumar's]

got Dravid's thread in the fourth page - what a respect to one of the greates cricketer of India :cry3:

[ajithfederer]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFK-kNbhk9o&feature=related


For a change Rahul dravid against england at leeds, 2002.

[VinodKumar's]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFK-kNbhk9o&feature=related


For a change Rahul dravid against england at leeds, 2002.

??? :roll:

[ajithfederer]

Change for me. Mostly I post Sachin videos when it comes to cricket.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFK-kNbhk9o&feature=related


For a change Rahul dravid against england at leeds, 2002.

??? :roll:

[VinodKumar's]

Change for me. Mostly I post Sachin videos when it comes to cricket.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFK-kNbhk9o&feature=related


For a change Rahul dravid against england at leeds, 2002.

??? :roll:

i was shocked when i saw Darvid's thread at the third page ....i pity him ...

[ajithfederer]

I see that you know this hub for the last three years. You could have done a lot in those times for your fav cricketer and avoid getting shocked.

[VinodKumar's]

I see that you know this hub for the last three years. You could have done a lot in those times for your fav cricketer and avoid getting shocked.

but i joined now only :D yean late ah join pannunaengarathukku neraya kaaranam irruku ...

sample - enakku argue panni panni bore adichiruchu ... that was the time when vijay vs ajith thread was in peak ... so inga vanthalum sanda podanumaenu thaan varala :(

[VinodKumar's]

The Wall is Back to ODI :redjump:

http://www.cricinfo.com/sltri09/content/current/story/419853.html

[VinodKumar's]

Fascinating not regressive !!!

Let's get the immediate question out of the way. The return of Rahul Dravid to the ODI scene is not knee-jerk, nor is it regressive. The failures of some of India's young ODI batsmen against testing bowling has been a matter of concern for some time. Dravid is not out of touch with modern cricket; he showed as much in the IPL in South Africa, where the par score had come down by about 20 from the inaugural edition and where batting was not all about plain hitting. It is open to debate as to what this move says about the reserves of talent in India, but Dravid's comeback is every bit a fascinating story.

He was 34 when dropped, an "old man", a "misfit" in the youngsters' game, a terrible failure in his last few matches (80 runs in the last 10, to be specific). India's ODI team did well without Dravid for long enough to raise questions as to why he was not retiring from limited-overs cricket. For the shorter version of the game was supposed to have changed so much over the last two years as to not have any place for Dravid-like one-dimensional non-big-hitters. Why was he even playing the IPL?

With 333 ODIs and 10,585 runs to his name, it was not as if Dravid had anything to prove to anybody, although most of his ODI career has been about proving people wrong. But something inside must have told him, "This is not how I go". The thought of that drop would not have consumed Dravid over the last two years, during which he has faced a Test slump and come respectfully out of it, but he sure had some unfinished business left. There were no statements in the press that he wanted to play ODIs one more time, but neither was he going to let an opportunity pass.

If he chooses to be perverse, Dravid can draw pleasure from the knowledge that after the batting failures in the ICC World Twenty20 the selectors have had to come back to him, discarded when the going was good. Instead he has been practising for about a week now at the NCA in Bangalore, even on a public holiday when the academy was closed, with a white ball. That is how success has come to Dravid: more hard work, less flash. :notworthy:

In making this comeback, he has also taken a gamble. Playing ODIs again could have an effect on what remains of his Test career. Dravid can easily keep on playing Test cricket, go out on his own terms, and the memories of his struggles against Australia in home ODIs two years ago won't even be evoked. Now he has put on line the relaxed state of mind he attained after giving up captaincy, and playing only Test cricket.

It is a bold move by the selectors too, because it will be all too easy to criticise if it goes wrong. The seeds for Dravid's comeback perhaps were sown when West Indies first employed the short ball successfully against India in the World Twenty20, only for South Africa and England to take cue and expose their frailties against the bouncer. Virender Sehwag's unavailability must have made the decision easier.

It is a short-term selection all right, one that as of now doesn't keep the 2011 World Cup in mind; a lot of it anyway depends on how well Dravid does during the tri-series in Sri Lanka and the Champions Trophy. The selectors see him as a bridge for the Rainas and the Rohits, who have the obvious talent, but are yet to graduate to the next level. Rohit Sharma will surely be disappointed, but dejected he shouldn't be. He will know he needs better than four half-centuries in 41 matches to show for the talent he has. Perhaps the selectors also thought that in performing the Dravid-type role, in giving the other big-hitters the license, MS Dhoni might have lost his explosive game a bit.

Dravid is quite familiar with that "Dravid-like" role. He has batted around the Gangulys, the Sehwags and the Tendulkars all throughout his ODI career. Not much will change for him this time around. It's quite possible that he comes back and finds that ODI cricket has indeed changed drastically, but come Sri Lanka not much will have changed in Dravid's commitment.

[Nerd]

:clap: :clap: One of the best decisions by BCCI in the recent years.

[MADDY]

:clap: :clap: One of the best decisions by BCCI in the recent years.

make it 4 claps :)

ah i'm loving it - rohit sharma dropped and dravid taken in.......now the team looks more like mudhalvan arjun team - youngster and experience :lol:

[littlemaster1982]

[tscii:e561cd0287]Dravid's selection a golden handshake? (http://cricket.zeenews.com/fullstory.aspx?nid=22766)

New Delhi: Rarely has the event of Indian team selection not been succeeded by controversy. The selection of 15 men for the Champions Trophy appears to be no different.

According to sources, selection of Rahul Dravid in the South Africa bound squad is a compromise between the BCCI and the aging veteran to provide the latter an honourable exit from international cricket.

Sources say that according to the deal brokered between the Indian cricket board and Dravid, he would bid adieu to one day cricket after the Champions Trophy in South Africa next month.


Dravid, who is a regular part of India’s Test set-up, last played an ODI for India way back in the October of 2007 in the home series against Australia where he managed just 51 runs from 5 innings.

Dravid’s re-induction is said to be a consequence of India’s Twenty20 World Cup debacle in June this year where the young turks were seen struggling against the short ball.

Dravid, it is said, was drafted in to bolster Indian batting in the pacer friendly conditions of South Africa.

Interestingly, this is not the first time that reports of ‘a golden handshake’ between an aging senior and BCCI have come to the fore.

Last year, former captain Sourav Ganguly too was reportedly offered a conditional selection into the Indian team for the Test series against Australia provided he hung up his boots after the series.

Though both the parties had vehemently denied the reports, Ganguly had eventually called it a day after the Australia series.

_______________

:roll:[/tscii:e561cd0287]

[P_R]

My thoughts same same.
iththOda anuppiruvaainga.

Reporters have been advised to not use up their glowing words for 'all the hail the return of' columns now.

[VinodKumar's]

[tscii:25c626a5fb]Dravid's selection a golden handshake? (http://cricket.zeenews.com/fullstory.aspx?nid=22766)

New Delhi: Rarely has the event of Indian team selection not been succeeded by controversy. The selection of 15 men for the Champions Trophy appears to be no different.

According to sources, selection of Rahul Dravid in the South Africa bound squad is a compromise between the BCCI and the aging veteran to provide the latter an honourable exit from international cricket.

Sources say that according to the deal brokered between the Indian cricket board and Dravid, he would bid adieu to one day cricket after the Champions Trophy in South Africa next month.


Dravid, who is a regular part of India’s Test set-up, last played an ODI for India way back in the October of 2007 in the home series against Australia where he managed just 51 runs from 5 innings.

Dravid’s re-induction is said to be a consequence of India’s Twenty20 World Cup debacle in June this year where the young turks were seen struggling against the short ball.

Dravid, it is said, was drafted in to bolster Indian batting in the pacer friendly conditions of South Africa.

Interestingly, this is not the first time that reports of ‘a golden handshake’ between an aging senior and BCCI have come to the fore.

Last year, former captain Sourav Ganguly too was reportedly offered a conditional selection into the Indian team for the Test series against Australia provided he hung up his boots after the series.

Though both the parties had vehemently denied the reports, Ganguly had eventually called it a day after the Australia series.

_______________

:roll:[/tscii:25c626a5fb]

what the hell is happening here ... dravid would not do all these things ... lets see ...

Rahul please stop playing ckt for this &*&$*&$# BCCI ...

[Plum]

I like this. Dhoni no longer has an excuse for playing consolidator.
Alternatively, if Dhoni insists on being consolidator, there might be CSK type results with Rahul Dravid playing Badrinath in the national setup.

[P_R]

I like this. Dhoni no longer has an excuse for playing consolidator. pre-emptive nathanArism :lol2:

[directhit]

:lol:

[Sanguine Sridhar]

I think Srikanth likes to give chance to all and I dont think that its a golden handshake. Nehra-vellam edhukku theripiyum choose pannanum?

If Dravid could not perform well whats wrong in giving him handshake in ODI's? :huh:

Srikanth :clap: thamizhan thamizhan dhaan ba! :notworthy:

[crajkumar_be]

:clap: :clap: One of the best decisions by BCCI in the recent years.

make it 4 claps :)

ah i'm loving it - rohit sharma dropped and dravid taken in.......now the team looks more like mudhalvan arjun team - youngster and experience :lol:
:clap:

:lol: @ Maddy: Rohit dropped-nu padichadhum mudhalla sandhosappadravaru neenga dhaan nu nyabagam vandhuchu. And stats pottirundhaanga :oops:

[MADDY]

:lol: @ Maddy: Rohit dropped-nu padichadhum mudhalla sandhosappadravaru neenga dhaan nu nyabagam vandhuchu. And stats pottirundhaanga :oops:

avana thalaila thatti konjam vekkanum........it worked so well for sehwag and yuvraj......also, looking at the volatility of the players, i think its good if we have both sachin and rahul for WC2011.....if rahul is in, rohit has no place....

[Dinesh84]

http://www.cricinfo.com/india/content/current/story/419934.html

kudutha kaasuku mela koovuraanda goyyala..

[crajkumar_be]

http://www.cricinfo.com/india/content/current/story/419934.html

kudutha kaasuku mela koovuraanda goyyala..
:lol:


Sachin Tendulkar has also been picked in the 15-member squad for the tournament
:shock: :banghead:

[ajithfederer]

Vengsarkar hoped that Dravid would seize the opportunity. "I hope, wish and expect him to do well," he said. "Rahul is a great batsman with a very sound technique. The ODIs, unlike the Tests, is a batsman's game. Unless you make mistakes you don't get out. Rahul doesn't commit too many mistakes."

From the above link



Yaarukavadhu purinjudha??

[crajkumar_be]

Simple, Mani-Ramani :lol2:
If "youngsters" perform, they will be selected. If Dravidan performs, its just ODIs where its difficult to get out


Vengsarkar hoped that Dravid would seize the opportunity. "I hope, wish and expect him to do well," he said. "Rahul is a great batsman with a very sound technique. The ODIs, unlike the Tests, is a batsman's game. Unless you make mistakes you don't get out. Rahul doesn't commit too many mistakes."

From the above link



Yaarukavadhu purinjudha??

[VinodKumar's]

http://www.cricinfo.com/india/content/current/story/419934.html

kudutha kaasuku mela koovuraanda goyyala..

Thambi VengayaSarkar rocks :lol:

[wrap07]

Rahul :D :clap:

[VinodKumar's]

[tscii:4f74159f73]Tailor-made for Dravid

There wasn’t much of a change in mood as the Indian team went about their practice today, given the news that Gautam Gambhir was out of the series. If it had affected them in any way, they didn’t show it. MS Dhoni, at a press conference, said the team had dealt with such losses before and had always stepped up.

Gambhir’s departure has deprived India of a player able to score quickly and bat through the innings. Gambhir is also an excellent player of spin. After Sachin Tendulkar at the top, the man most capable of playing the anchor role is Rahul Dravid.

Dravid was a surprise inclusion in the one-day side, but his need was justified. India’s middle order had their share of problems against the short ball, highlighted by several teams during the ICC World Twenty20, and the selectors called on someone reliable.

Virender Sehwag was not an option before the team was announced, Gambhir was today ruled out. Dravid will bat ahead of Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni and Yusuf Pathan, a quartet that provides India with big-hitting early, during the middle overs, and late on. On these pitches, against skillful slow bowlers who know more about choking than the average serial killer, whether setting or chasing, you need something special. Thilan Samaraweera showed that.

Dravid has always appeared to construct his innings in a thorough manner. He runs hard between the wickets, he drops the ball gently here and there, and manages to find the boundary ropes with deftness as supposed to power. His two most productive regions to collect boundaries when batting at the end of an innings are the arc between point and gully and the area behind square, just wide of short fine leg. Shots played there are mostly down to astute placement than belligerence.

Today he played shots that appeared like they’d perforate those gaps. Watching a batsman at the nets can offer you insights into his mental and physical state: how did he read the ball, move into position in time? Did he play his shots with ease to wherever he wanted? Today, outdoors at the nets against his bowling team-mates, Dravid batted without any noticeable flourish, but that sturdiness and approach was unmistakable. They are two traits Dravid possesses that can quickly deflate a bowling side.

He was in a rhythm today. It’s only practice, but if you have an eye for the techniques of batting it can be beneficial. Dravid stood still until the bowler delivered; his feet and hands moved with speed and precision. His head was still. Raina and Dinesh Karthik, batting at adjacent nets, moved much more at the crease.

A couple drives off the quick bowlers and two late-cuts from off stump off Amit Mishra – the shots were placed with the accuracy of a surgeon – was ample proof that Dravid is in good nick.

http://blogs.cricinfo.com/tourdiaries/archives/2009/09/tailormade_for.php[/tscii:4f74159f73]

[VinodKumar's]

Thalaiva waiting to see u

[ajithfederer]

Bala adhu illenga

This phrase eludes me "ODI's unlike the Tests is a batsman game". Appo Tests batsman game illaya??

Simple, Mani-Ramani :lol2:
If "youngsters" perform, they will be selected. If Dravidan performs, its just ODIs where its difficult to get out


Vengsarkar hoped that Dravid would seize the opportunity. "I hope, wish and expect him to do well," he said. "Rahul is a great batsman with a very sound technique. The ODIs, unlike the Tests, is a batsman's game. Unless you make mistakes you don't get out. Rahul doesn't commit too many mistakes."

From the above link



Yaarukavadhu purinjudha??

[VinodKumar's]

:cry2: :cry2: :cry2:

[Vivasaayi]

Vengsarkar hoped that Dravid would seize the opportunity. "I hope, wish and expect him to do well," he said. "Rahul is a great batsman with a very sound technique. The ODIs, unlike the Tests, is a batsman's game. Unless you make mistakes you don't get out. Rahul doesn't commit too many mistakes."


:lol:

I dont think vensargar would have blabbered something like this...

[Ramakrishna]

Vengsarkar hoped that Dravid would seize the opportunity. "I hope, wish and expect him to do well," he said. "Rahul is a great batsman with a very sound technique. The ODIs, unlike the Tests, is a batsman's game. Unless you make mistakes you don't get out. Rahul doesn't commit too many mistakes."


:lol:

I dont think vensargar would have blabbered something like this...

avaru paesartha kaettirukeengla

[ajithfederer]

[tscii:89ce32e1d9]Rahul Dravid, who was honoured with a special award for surpassing Mark Waugh’s world record of 181 Test catches, too recalled his cherished moments. “I’ve enjoyed taking all those catches especially as they contribute to someone’s success. That’s been a special part to my taking catches as it helps you celebrate with the team more.”

Source:- Times of India Friday 2009.[/tscii:89ce32e1d9]

[VinodKumar's]

Dravid conquers Adelaide

With a perfect square-cut, an epic is sealed

http://www.cricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/426847.html

Dravid :notworthy: :notworthy: :notworthy:

[podaskie]

Dravid conquers Adelaide

With a perfect square-cut, an epic is sealed

http://www.cricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/426847.html

Dravid :notworthy: :notworthy: :notworthy:


My favorite player of all time :D

[VinodKumar's]

Dravid conquers Adelaide

With a perfect square-cut, an epic is sealed

http://www.cricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/426847.html

Dravid :notworthy: :notworthy: :notworthy:


My favorite player of all time :D

podaskie :2thumbsup: :2thumbsup:

[wrap07]

BCCI - rot.
the way they are treating legends.

[19thmay]

BCCI - rot.
the way they are treating legends.

He should retire from ODI's! He is much needed in test cricket.

Viru and Yuvi are back to the team and Dravid is out, normally it should be the other way right? Really sorry for him!

Dravid-kum konjam soranai kammi-nu nenaikiren. 50 Overs 2007 WC-la mudhal round-la velila vandhona avaru captainship-a thooki erivaaru-nu nenachen! :oops:

[Plum]

Oru icc tournamentla thOthutt vndhu resign paNNAdha rahulkE soraNa kamminnA, rendu icc tournamentla aappu vaangittu, soonapaana maadhiri oruthar team-ai blame pannikittu maindain paNNikittrukarE avaru?

[P_R]

kaalaailayE vA :lol2:

[VinodKumar's]

Oru icc tournamentla thOthutt vndhu resign paNNAdha rahulkE soraNa kamminnA, rendu icc tournamentla aappu vaangittu, soonapaana maadhiri oruthar team-ai blame pannikittu maindain paNNikittrukarE avaru?

:lol:

[19thmay]

T20-a aatailE serthukka koodadhu.

Champions Trophy-la oru match thaane thOthom?

But in WC-2007 we lost against Bangla and Srilanka. Though Dravid is not the only responsible soul, avar kandipa resign pannirukanum, IMO.

[P_R]

T20-a aatailE serthukka koodadhu. :thumbsup:
idhai oru poruttA madhichu credit, debit kudukkuradhE thappu 'ngrEn

[VinodKumar's]

T20-a aatailE serthukka koodadhu.

Champions Trophy-la oru match thaane thOthom?

But in WC-2007 we lost against Bangla and Srilanka. Though Dravid is not the only responsible soul, avar kandipa resign pannirukanum, IMO.

enna yethirkacthi kaarar mari resign pannanum resign pannanum nu solluringa ...

thotha resign pannanuma ... :roll:

[Sourav]

innum 3 yrs appuram ODI-y irukkathu pola....appuram enga WC ellam... :lol2:
England county-la 50 overs match ellam thookiyachu...only 40 overs... :P
inimae cricket-na donty donty than pola... :lol2:

[19thmay]

Adhu appadi kedayadhu Vinod, ODI'sla ippo Dravid nilamai-ya paatheengala? Idhu aaramichathu 2007 WC-ku appuram thaan. Avaru appovE resign panni paraparappu yerpaduthirundhaar-na Sourav maadhri team-la decent-a irrundhirupaaru-nu nenaikiren.

Nevertheless Dhoni's T20 victory was the main reason!

[P_R]

1-1 over varum. appo neenga ellAm azhuveenga. nAn sirippEn.

[Plum]

T20-a aatailE serthukka koodadhu. :thumbsup:
idhai oru poruttA madhichu credit, debit kudukkuradhE thappu 'ngrEn

T20 WC win paNNadhAlE dhaanE Dhoniyanukku peddha pEru :lol:

[19thmay]

1-1 over varum. appo neenga ellAm azhuveenga. nAn sirippEn.

Adhan already vandhuduche, super over! :lol2:

[Plum]

T20-a aatailE serthukka koodadhu.

Champions Trophy-la oru match thaane thOthom?

But in WC-2007 we lost against Bangla and Srilanka. Though Dravid is not the only responsible soul, avar kandipa resign pannirukanum, IMO.
oru match thOthA enna, reNdu match thOtha enna, oru all-time great captain, India's best ever, manidharul punidhar, maha avatar Dhoni(with apologies to nerd for stealin ghis phrase) ipdi oru record vechurukkalAmA?

[littlemaster1982]

Plum,

I feel you are taking this too far :roll:

[Sourav]

1-1 over varum. appo neenga ellAm azhuveenga. nAn sirippEn.

Adhan already vandhuduche, super over! :lol2:
hey athu kooda nalla thane irukku... :lol2:
clt20-la oru match...9 runs targettu...0-ku all out aagittanuga... :rotfl2:

[P_R]

Plum,

I feel you are taking this too far :roll:

Yes. romba over

[VinodKumar's]

Sourav maadhri team-la decent-a irrundhirupaaru-nu nenaikiren.

:confused2: :confused2: :confused2:

[Plum]

Plum,

I feel you are taking this too far :roll:

Yes. romba over

sari, saga katchi kaarangaLum, maanbumigu sattamandra thalaivarum solradhALa, konja nAL adakki vaasikkarEn.

[MADDY]

illa continue dhaan pannugalen :D

(sitting in sofa with "pepsi"/popcorn)

[Nerd]

Plum,

I feel you are taking this too far :roll:

Yes. romba over
Plum, naan silent-aa admire pannittu irukkEn. But edhir katchi-la balam illAdhadhaala (Directhit, Kalyan ellam post panna mattEngraanga) vENumnaa neenga niRuthikkunga. Indha over, under ellAm freeya vidunga :twisted:

[MADDY]

Plum, naan silent-aa admire pannittu irukkEn. But edhir katchi-la balam illAdhadhaala (Directhit, Kalyan ellam post panna mattEngraanga) vENumnaa neenga niRuthikkunga. Indha over, under ellAm freeya vidunga :twisted:

tumhare paas kya hai? gaadi hai, bangla hai, P_R hai, LM hai, Bala hai.....mere paas Dhoni hai :lol2:

(moving slightly in sofa - popcorn, pesi almost getting over)

[P_R]

MADDY, extreme left wingers centre populationai rightward-A shift paNRa maadhiri, Plum is pushing me 'towards' Dhoni

[Plum]

P-r-ai edhukku indha listla sErkarInga? Paavam avaru nadunilamai maindain pannikittirukkaru?
Nerd, I mentioned dh already. Apdi strong-A oru opp leader illama pesaradhu waste. Avaru varattum. Btw, I thought kalyasi(kalyanna ivar dhaane?)was namma katchi?

[MADDY]

MADDY, extreme left wingers centre populationai rightward-A shift paNRa maadhiri, Plum is pushing me 'towards' Dhoni

"eppadi irundha naa ippadi ayitten scene" manobala: this is what i want

[19thmay]

குமுதம் அரசு பதில்கள்

இந்திய கிரிக்கெட் அணி சொதப்புவதற்கு காரணம் என்ன?

சமீபத்தில் ஒரு விழாவில் கண்டதை ஒரு சங்கீத ஆர்வலர் வருத்தமுடன் சொன்னதை பகிர்ந்து கொள்கிறேன். அந்த மேடையில் அமர்ந்திருந்தவர்கள் கர்நாடக சங்கீதத்திலும் பரத கலையிலும் பேர் பெற்றவர்கள். வரவேற்புரை நிக்ழ்தியவர் இப்படி பேசுகிறார்

"நான் தமிழில் பேசவா இங்கீலீசில் பேசவா? இல்லாட்டி தங்கிலிஷ்ல பேசவா? சரி நான் தங்கிலிஷில் பேசுறேன். இதோ உக்காந்திருகாங்களே பத்மா சுப்ரமணியம். பெரிய டான்சர். எங்கப்பா காலத்தில இருந்து தெரியும். அப்பவும் சிக்குனு இருப்பார். இப்பவும் ஜல்சாவா இருக்கார். அவருக்கு பக்கத்தில உக்காந்திருகிறவர் யாருன்னு எனக்கு தெரில (பின் பக்கம் திரும்பி) 'சார் நீங்க யார்னு தெரில தப்பா எடுத்துகாதீங்க'; அப்புறம் அவருக்கு அடுத்து இருக்கிறவர் கர்நாடிக் மியூசிக்-னு நெனைக்கிறேன். அதுக்கு அடுத்தவங்க.... யாரு.... (பாப்பநாசம் சிவனின் மகள் என்று சொல்கிறார்கள்) ஏதோ சொல்றாங்க எனக்கு தெரில.... சரி பரவால.... எல்லாரையும் வரவேற்கிறேன்!"

இப்படி மேடை நாகரிகம் கொஞ்சமும் தெரியாமல் அலட்சியத்துடன் வரவேற்றார் முன்னாள் கிரிக்கெட் வீரரும், இந்நாள் கிரிக்கெட் தேர்வு குழு தலைவராக இருப்பவருமான ஸ்ரீகாந்த். மேடையில் மட்டுமல்ல இந்திய கிரிக்கெட் அணியை தேர்வு செய்வதிலும் அதே அலட்சியம், அதே சொதப்பல்.

[Dinesh84]

Sourav maadhri team-la decent-a irrundhirupaaru-nu nenaikiren.

:confused2: :confused2: :confused2:

:evil:

[VinodKumar's]

Sourav maadhri team-la decent-a irrundhirupaaru-nu nenaikiren.

:confused2: :confused2: :confused2:

:evil: :noteeth:

[VinodKumar's]

Have there been any other 300 partnerships in one-day internationals apart from the two that Rahul Dravid has been involved in? asked Aravind Ramesh from the United States

No :notworthy: , there have only been two partnerships of more than 300 in one-day internationals, and Rahul Dravid was part of both of them. In Hyderabad in November 1999, Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar put on 331 for the second wicket against New Zealand, which broke the overall record established earlier that year when Dravid and Sourav Ganguly added 318, also for the second wicket, against Sri Lanka at Taunton during the 1999 World Cup.

http://www.cricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/432556.html

[podaskie]

Todays dravid innings is best in his carrear

[podaskie]

Dashing Dravid carries India's comeback


Rahul Dravid's 27th century - and tenth 150-plus score - carried more intent than probably any of his Test innings, and helped by MS Dhoni's second century and Yuvraj Singh's seventh half-century, led India's remarkable comeback from 32 for 4 in the first half hour. Along the way, he took part in his 77th and 78th 100-run partnerships (both world records), scored more runs than he ever has in a day's play, crossed Steve Waugh to become the fifth-highest run-getter in Tests, reached 11,000 career runs, and most importantly undid the superb start that two rookies gave Sri Lanka. Chanaka Welegedara and Dammika Prasad were last-minute replacements for Nuwan Kulasekara and Thilan Thushara, but they combined to give India flashbacks of their previous Test in Ahmedabad, when they were shot out for 76 by South Africa.


Test cricket it might be, but it rattled along at breathtaking pace and refused to slow down even with wickets falling. At the heart of it was Dravid. He outscored Yuvraj during their 125-run fifth-wicket partnership, the main feature of which was majestic driving by both batsmen. He then kept up with Dhoni, who made him run frantically between the wickets during their 224-run stand. Dravid, perhaps tired of the running, kept finding the boundary throughout his innings, reaching his fifty in 79 balls, hundred in 158, and 150 in 216. Dravid's pace - 110 of his unbeaten 177 coming in boundaries - allowed India's run-rate to stay over four almost throughout the day.


Acceleration wouldn't have been the first thing on his mind when he came in to bat in the third over of the innings, and saw three more wickets fall around him in the next five. Especially when he saw the ball swing from left-arm bowler Welegedara, who created doubts by mixing it up with deliveries that went straight on. The straighter ones got Gautam Gambhir and Sachin Tendulkar, the swinging one Sehwag. His 3 for 12 was complemented by Dammika Prasad, who removed VVS Laxman.

All four wickets for Sri Lanka had come attacking the stumps, and they continued doing just that. Dravid and Yuvraj, having realised this wasn't a beast to bat on, counterattacked. Dravid got going through late clips off his pads, Yuvraj through a thick edge past gully. Immediately, though, Yuvraj corrected it with a picture-perfect cover-drive. Sangakkara perhaps missed a trick by introducing Angelo Mathews before Muttiah Muralitharan, and both Yuvraj and Dravid enjoyed the gentle pace and length balls. A couple of classy shots from Dravid later, the two had added 34 in 32 deliveries even before Murali was introduced.

Yuvraj faced the first over from Murali, and showed good judgement of the topspinner and regular offbreak. Driving through the line looked easy while the two were at it. Rangana Herath - playing ahead of Ajantha Mendis - was never allowed to settle, and was restricted to bowling flat deliveries, that too only minutes before the first two session breaks.

Dravid saw off Welegedara's swing with three boundaries in one over just after lunch, which summed up how well he played. One of the them was clipped late, to the right of midwicket, the next was cover-driven all along the ground, and the third flicked to the left of midwicket - all despite the swing.

Yuvraj's innings wasn't as spotless, despite three high-elbow off-drives for the photo album. Prasad, in his later spells either side of lunch, found his body with bouncers. Yuvraj bottom-edged a pull for four, upper-cut over slips for another, but then made his first outright mistake in Murali's next over, the bowler's seventh. He stepped out, saw he was beaten in the flight, but as opposed to thrusting his pad forward, he presented it both bat and pad.

There was little joy for Murali apart from that, as Dravid played two of his best drives off him just before tea: one against the spin through extra cover, the other straight down the ground. The second one carried him to 98, and Dhoni by that time had slyly reached 29 off 49 balls. His rate was only to go up, hitting Murali for a four and a straight six. Between those shots, Dravid took a single to reach his hundred, and even before he finished the 100th run he exulted, as demonstrative a celebration for a century as Dravid has ever got into.

For Dhoni the accumulation continued. He would walk out to spinners, and place them either side of midwicket, and run. That rattled Sri Lanka's plans, and with single-saving fields Dravid kept finding boundaries. Dhoni was 38 when Dravid reached 100; by the time Dravid reached 150, Dhoni had 85. In that period, Dravid hit eight boundaries, and Dhoni three. Such was Dhoni's efficiency.

Dhoni reached his century with a typical, step-out-and-push, but fell just before stumps, which gave Sri Lanka a glimpse but it seemed to get Dravid - closing in on a double - they would need more than just the glimpse.

[VinodKumar's]

Thalaiva

:notworthy: :notworthy: :notworthy: :notworthy: :notworthy: :notworthy: :notworthy: :notworthy: :notworthy: :notworthy: :notworthy: :notworthy:

[VinodKumar's]

'One of my most fluent efforts' - Rahul Dravid

On the opening day of the Ashes in 2002-03, after Nasser Hussain had sent Australia in to bat, Matthew Hayden set the agenda for an utterly one-sided contest, powering his way to an unbeaten 186 out of 364 for 2. On the first day at Motera, Rahul Dravid finished with 177 of the 371 runs that India scored after he arrived at the crease. Hayden faced 255 balls at the Gabba that day. Dravid faced four fewer. Hayden scored 104 of his runs in boundaries (23 fours and two sixes), while Dravid took 110 from strokes to or over the fence (26 fours and a six).

As batsmen, they couldn't be more different. Hayden was the colossus who stood outside his crease, walked down the pitch and generally bullied bowlers into submission. Every ball was a confrontation, one more opportunity to assert his dominance over the opposition. Dravid, one of the cornerstones of India's batting strength over the past decade, has made his runs far more sedately, with greater subtlety. Where Hayden went for the first-round knockout, sheer persistence was the Dravid way. On occasions, even mighty Australian sides were worn down to the point of exhaustion.

This was a very different Dravid. From the moment he placed one from Dammika Prasad through the covers, the positive intent was evident. But unlike many of his modern-day contemporaries, who use bats as thick as arks and prefer to stand-and-deliver, there was nothing frenetic or brutal about his methods. Dravid bats the old-fashioned way, bending his knee and transferring the body weight at just the right time. Each of the 13 fours he drove in the arc between point and long off was crowned with the perfect follow-through.

Even late in the day, with the second new-ball taken, he chose his battles carefully. He invariably got into line for each delivery, and was perfectly content to leave off-stump bait well alone. "I knew we needed a partnership," he said later, having spent some time in the ice-bath to recover from the day's exertions. "I had that South African game [April 2008] at the back of my mind, where we were bowled out in 20 overs and the wicket became good later on.

"I knew that if we could get through to lunch, batting would get a lot easier. Yuvi [Yuvraj Singh] came and batted really well. He was very positive and played some good shots. We were able to put on a 100-run partnership and that set the platform for me and Mahi [MS Dhoni]. We showed character today to be able to fight back."

More than his powers of concentration, always a hallmark of his game, what was most impressive was his ability to find the gaps. At one point, Kumar Sangakkara had a short cover and a sweeper in place, in addition to the mid-off fielder. He still threaded the ball through. Late on, with square leg and fine leg in position, he pulled Chanaka Welegedara so precisely that neither man moved more than a five yards before the ball crossed the rope.

He made four half-centuries in New Zealand earlier this year, including match-saving efforts of 83 and 62 in Napier, but this was an innings played at an altogether different tempo. Not since The Oval in 2007, when he eased to a half-century before being castled by James Anderson, had he played with such freedom.

He admitted as much. "It's nice to get this feeling of batting the way I have. I've been through some tough times for a couple of seasons. I thought the flow's sort of come back this year, in various forms of the game. It was probably one of my most fluent efforts over the last few seasons."

With the pitch conducive to run-scoring, Dravid reckoned that India would need around 500 to put some pressure on the Sri Lankans. And he was in no hurry to critique this particular innings. "It'll be a good question to answer at the end of a game," he said. "I always rate an innings in the context of the game. From 32 for 4, at the end of the day I'm really happy with what we've achieved. If we go on to win this Test match, you'd say it's somewhere up there.

"That's why the innings I've played in Kolkata [v Australia, 2001], in Adelaide [v Australia, 2003] or in Rawalpindi [v Pakistan, 2004] ... when you go on to win, that's when you realise the value. In terms of shot-making, this was a good one. It was a pretty flat wicket. I've played on much tougher ones. If it ends up being a draw, it's a great knock, but not as meaningful as some of the other ones."

After scoring 11,000 runs and 27 centuries, he really has nothing left to prove to anyone. :exactly: But on a day when he frequently put two far more aggressive strokemakers in the shade, there was plenty for selectors and supporters to ponder. Instead of a Wall-like immoveable object, this was a free-flowing stream of an innings. "I'm not even thinking of selection," :cry2: he said when asked a question that alluded to his exclusion from the one-day scheme of things. "I'm just trying to play every single game."

There could well be a few more if this latest uptempo back-to-the-wall effort produces a result.

[VinodKumar's]

India's Mr.Dependable comes to the rescue

In all the glare of publicity on Sachin Tendulkar's 20th anniversary in Indian cricket, it was perhaps forgotten that there was a Test match to be played against an opponent ranked No.2 in the world.

Forgotten by all but one man that is. And it was appropriately enough the only man who has overshadowed Tendulkar with his batting deeds for any considerable length of time. It needed the familiar scenario of India with their backs to the wall for their Mr. Dependable to come out and play an innings that was typical of him in the sense that he got runs when the team needed them most, but also atypical in the sense that he got runs at a pace that one does not normally associate with Rahul Dravid. :notworthy: :notworthy:


At the end of the day, several landmarks had been crossed, but none of them looked likely when a little known paceman with a typically long Sri Lankan name - UWMBCA Welegedara - gave his team the perfect start as India slumped to 32/4 inside the first 8 overs after Mahendra Singh Dhoni had won the toss and opted to bat. Gambhir, Sehwag, Tendulkar and Laxman had all fallen cheaply with three of the wickets going to Welegedara.

With their tails up, the Lankans were steaming in, and soon India were grappling with how to not embarrass themselves on the first day of the series, rather than how to dictate terms.

Looking at the Sri Lankans' bowling attack, India might have been forgiven for thinking that it would be a walk in the park, but as it turned out, it needed an amount of application for batting to be easy. Sri Lanka were without Thushara, Kulasekara and Ajantha Mendis. The first two had injury niggles, while Mendis was dropped in favour of Herath.

After the initial few overs, it seemed as if the island nation would not miss the services of its more experienced bowlers, but that was when they ran into the Wall.

Rahul Dravid found able company in Yuvraj Singh, and instead of downing the shutters and dead-batting everything, the two took the attack to the bowlers - scoring runs at a fair clip and not letting the bad balls go unpunished.

Gradually, they started building a partnership that first ensured India would not be dismissed for an undefendable total, then set about establishing a platform for making a big total.

With both of them matching each other shot for shot, Yuvraj's old failing against spin halted the stand. Muralitharan was the bowler to pick up Yuvraj's wicket against the run of play, but the pair had added 125 runs to take India to 157.

The match hung in balance, and in walked Mahendra Singh Dhoni to tilt the scales firmly and decisively in India's favour. Yuvraj's wicket hadn't slowed Dravid's pace, and he continued to progress serenely.

At tea, India were 221/5, with Dravid on 98 and Dhoni giving him good support on 29. The run-rate for India had been above 4 runs an over, but after tea, it picked up even more.

Dravid reached yet another majestic hundred - the 27th of his Test career - as he let out a roar and a pump of the fist to celebrate the moment. And in Dravid's company, Dhoni continued to flourish. The Sri Lankans were soon running out of ideas, as they could neither stem the flow of runs nor come within sniffing distance of a wicket.

The second landmark of the day - after Dravid's century - came about when Dhoni reached 2000 runs in Test matches when his score moved to 38. Soon after that, Dravid overtook Steve Waugh to become the fifth highest run-getter in Test history. Soon two other landmarks loomed - Dhoni's second Test century and first on Indian soil, and the 11,000 run mark for Dravid. It was a toss-up as to which would arrive first, and eventually it was Dhoni that did.

But in a rare moment of celebration for the Sri Lankans, Dhoni was dismissed for 110, after sharing a 224 run stand with Dravid that put India in the driver's seat.

Dravid was then just 2 runs away from the landmark, and he duly reached it with a cut to deep point, to join an exclusive club of five members - Tendulkar, Lara, Ponting, Border and himself.

At the end of the day Dravid was batting on 177 and India had reached 385/6, which was the highest total they had ever scored on the first day of a Test match. It is fair to say that after the start they got, this was a highly unlikely possibility and would not have happened were it not for the efforts of Dravid, Dhoni and Yuvraj.

[kapildev]

Great salute to Mr.Wall!

Once again you prove that you are the master of Test Batsman.

What a game ! 170+ that too in a single day!

Way to go and set the 300+ record along with Sehwag!

All the best!

[VinodKumar's]

Great salute to Mr.Wall!

Once again you prove that you are the master of Test Batsman.

What a game ! 170+ that too in a single day!

Way to go and set the 300+ record along with Sehwag!

All the best!

Welcome kapil Dev ...

innum 4 wickets thaan irruku ... so 300 lam kastam ... lets hope for 200 :happydance:

[podaskie]

Plenty of records

Rahul Dravid's 27th Test century was only his second against Sri Lanka in 15 Tests. He's edged ahead of Mahela Jayawardene and Garry Sobers - who have 26 Test centuries to their name - in the list of players with most hundreds in Test cricket.

Dravid, upon getting to 177, reached 11,000 runs in Test cricket, the fifth batsman, and the second Indian, to do so. He is now fourth on the list of highest run-getters in all cricket (Tests, ODIs and Twenty20 Internationals) with 21,765.

Dravid also reached a personal best of most runs scored in a single day of a Test. He went past the 156 (43 to 199) he scored against Australia on the third day of the Adelaide Test in 2003 during his epic 233.

Dravid was involved in two century-stands today, with Yuvraj Singh and MS Dhoni, which took his Test tally to 78 and stretched his lead against Ricky Ponting (who has 75) by three. Ponting reached 75 by being involved in five century-stands this year; Dravid, too, has five to his name in 2009, but in fewer Tests - four, as opposed to Ponting's nine. Sachin Tendulkar is third on the list of batsmen with most century-stands, 71, followed by Steve Waugh (64).

The 224-run sixth wicket stand with Dhoni was Dravid's 12th in excess of 200. It ranks No.3 in the highest sixth-wicket stands for India, overtaking Tendulkar and Mohammad Azharuddin's 222 against South Africa in Cape Town in 1997.

Comparing to Mathew Hayden, On the first day at Motera, Rahul Dravid finished with 177 of the 371 runs that India scored after he arrived at the crease. Hayden faced 255 balls at the Gabba that day for 186 notout. Dravid faced four fewer. Hayden scored 104 of his runs in boundaries (23 fours and two sixes), while Dravid took 110 from strokes to or over the fence (26 fours and a six).

[ajithfederer]

Vaanga keerarae(???)!!!

Great salute to Mr.Wall!

Once again you prove that you are the master of Test Batsman.

What a game ! 170+ that too in a single day!

Way to go and set the 300+ record along with Sehwag!

All the best!

[19thmay]

Vaanga keerarae(???)!!!

Great salute to Mr.Wall!

Once again you prove that you are the master of Test Batsman.

What a game ! 170+ that too in a single day!

Way to go and set the 300+ record along with Sehwag!

All the best!

Yeah Yeah!! :lol:

[Sourav]

who is that? :roll:

[ajithfederer]

From June 20, 1996, to the present Test with Sri Lanka, India have had 135 matches. Dravid has played in 134 of them. He missed one game in 2005 with a fever (thanks to Ranja and Praveen in comments) but otherwise has had no tweaked thingies, no sprained whatsits, no snuffles and coughs, no selectorial whims, no missing the bus, no disciplinary breaches, no excuses. Tendulkar, by contrast, has played in only 121 of those games. Even gods can have mortal moments.

Dravid's record of 93 straight games since his Test debut is remarkable, beaten only by Adam Gilchrist. His near-perfect 13-year streak compares with Cal Ripken, the baseball player, who went 17 seasons (and more than 2,500 games) without missing a match for the Baltimore Orioles. Allan Border is another one to note: he went 15 years without missing a game, although that wasn't from debut.


http://timesonline.typepad.com/line_and_length/2009/11/dravids-longevity-more-impressive-than-tendulkars.html

[VinodKumar's]

From June 20, 1996, to the present Test with Sri Lanka, India have had 135 matches. Dravid has played in 134 of them. He missed one game in 2005 with a fever (thanks to Ranja and Praveen in comments) but otherwise has had no tweaked thingies, no sprained whatsits, no snuffles and coughs, no selectorial whims, no missing the bus, no disciplinary breaches, no excuses. Tendulkar, by contrast, has played in only 121 of those games. Even gods can have mortal moments.

Dravid's record of 93 straight games since his Test debut is remarkable, beaten only by Adam Gilchrist. His near-perfect 13-year streak compares with Cal Ripken, the baseball player, who went 17 seasons (and more than 2,500 games) without missing a match for the Baltimore Orioles. Allan Border is another one to note: he went 15 years without missing a game, although that wasn't from debut.


http://timesonline.typepad.com/line_and_length/2009/11/dravids-longevity-more-impressive-than-tendulkars.html

cha antha oru match fever varama irunthuruntha :cry:

anyway :notworthy:

thanks for sharing AF

btw y only half of the article :noteeth: :devil:

[kapildev]

Wished atleast 200 come true !
Anyway, Better luck next time(innings) Mr. Wall !

[podaskie]

From June 20, 1996, to the present Test with Sri Lanka, India have had 135 matches. Dravid has played in 134 of them. He missed one game in 2005 with a fever (thanks to Ranja and Praveen in comments) but otherwise has had no tweaked thingies, no sprained whatsits, no snuffles and coughs, no selectorial whims, no missing the bus, no disciplinary breaches, no excuses. Tendulkar, by contrast, has played in only 121 of those games. Even gods can have mortal moments.

Dravid's record of 93 straight games since his Test debut is remarkable, beaten only by Adam Gilchrist. His near-perfect 13-year streak compares with Cal Ripken, the baseball player, who went 17 seasons (and more than 2,500 games) without missing a match for the Baltimore Orioles. Allan Border is another one to note: he went 15 years without missing a game, although that wasn't from debut.


http://timesonline.typepad.com/line_and_length/2009/11/dravids-longevity-more-impressive-than-tendulkars.html


nice to hear :D

[VinodKumar's]

Was there any fight between dravid and yuvaraj during compaq cup final???

[Bala (Karthik)]

[tscii:83350d4bec]
From June 20, 1996, to the present Test with Sri Lanka, India have had 135 matches. Dravid has played in 134 of them. He missed one game in 2005 with a fever (thanks to Ranja and Praveen in comments) but otherwise has had no tweaked thingies, no sprained whatsits, no snuffles and coughs, no selectorial whims, no missing the bus, no disciplinary breaches, no excuses. Tendulkar, by contrast, has played in only 121 of those games. Even gods can have mortal moments.

Dravid's record of 93 straight games since his Test debut is remarkable, beaten only by Adam Gilchrist. His near-perfect 13-year streak compares with Cal Ripken, the baseball player, who went 17 seasons (and more than 2,500 games) without missing a match for the Baltimore Orioles. Allan Border is another one to note: he went 15 years without missing a game, although that wasn't from debut.


http://timesonline.typepad.com/line_and_length/2009/11/dravids-longevity-more-impressive-than-tendulkars.html




Err, your reasoning is wrong for the following reasons:
1)Till 01/01/2003: The big 3 :SRT 8811@ 57.6 31 hun, BCL 7572@49.5 18 hun; Pont 4246 @ 48.8 14 hun Dravid: 118 inn;5614@53.5;14 100s . After mid 2007 again Tendulkar trumps Ponting and Dravid.
2) After the 2003 WC-2006, here’s a short bio of Tendulkar:
April 2003: Hand surgery. Most of the next 2 seasons affected by Tennis elbow. At one point in 2004 could not pick up a bat for 6 months. Prematurely brought back after attempting conservative treatment for tennis elbow after India lost the first 2 home tests to Aus. With the inevitable result-more pain and a forced surgery . May 2005: elbow surgery. April 2006: shoulder surgery.
Tendulkar has had some injuries before but they were not all compressed into a short period so recurring. (1998: back injury, 2001 broken toe). So, you have time to get back your rhythm after injury, provided you don’t again get another one.
So, in the period 2003-07 , it is not ONLY the pontings,Laras,dravids who massively outscored Tendulkar , but just about every Tom,Dick and Hussey. This was probably the easiest time for batting in cricket history.
3)Infact if you consider only the 90s Tendulkar avg. almost 60 with Ponting and Lara less than 50!
4)Obviously at his best Tendulkar was the best. That too at a particularly difficult time for batting. Plus you need add ODIs to the workload. I’m afraid in modern day cricket you simply cannot segregate Tests and ODIs. They are joined at the hip. Not a single modern day great has forsaken Tests for ODIs.

Dravid and co. have not played International cricket since they were as young as Tendulkar and so definitely have escaped some of the incredible wear and tear that Tendulkar has gone through. The stats merely affirm what we fans already know. To repeat the other guys only match up to Tendulkar when Tendulkar is injured. And again to go through the entire gamut of injuries, much more matches, many more ODI runs (don’t forget some 7000 ODI runs (repeat 7000!) ..Plus intangibles like obscene pressure etc….Tendulkar is simply a Gulliver among Lilliputians. As Roebuck states in a recent article, stats cannot quite capture the picture as you are attempting to do.


Here’s some further stats:
Dravids career 13 yrs 5 mths so far:
Tests: 135 mtc, 234 inn, 11000 @ 53.1, 27 Hun.
ODIs: 339 mtc, 10765 @ 39.4, 12 Hun.
13 yrs 5 mths into Tendulkars career from debut, till 15 Apr 2003.
India played 479 international matches out of which Tendulkar played 419.
Tests: 105 mtc, 169 inn, 8811 @ 57.6, 31 Hun.
i.e. a whopping 65 inn (!!) less than Dravid at a similar stage.
ODIs: 333 mtc, 13134 @ 44.8; 37 Hun.

Extrapolating his avg and hundreds at that point we would get 65x57.6=3744 runs. 8811+3744=12555 runs.
Plus 12 hundreds more, making it 43.
All this in 2003!
So, simply due to the much fewer matches he played in the first 13 yrs he gets “penalized”. As mentioned adfinitum, from 2003-07 it was then one almost endless injury spree. 2003 in particular was annus miserabilis.
Imagine Tendulkars aggregates if he had been fit for those 4 yrs (age approx 30-34) when all and sundry were piling on obscene runs. In fact we have probably missed out on the best of Tendulkar- weird though it may seem.
(my last post! Hopefully! Thanks for putting up with me)

From debut to the above date India played 513 international matches.Tendulkar played 447. In Dravids career to date India has played 593 matches of which Dravid has played 474 matches.
As can be seen, essentially Dravid was “lucky” that he got a much greater amount of Tests to play at his peak and injury free (50 Tests innings MORE than Tendulkar in his first 13 years!!- again essentially approx 2003-07, and so at a relatively easier time than the tougher 90s, where only 3 batsmen avg.50+ for the entire decade!) than Tendulkar.
So, as with all stats the relevant context and subtext is absolutely crucial, otherwise it is relatively to spin just about any tale of ones choosing.
Dravid is a great and very fine batsman- no doubt. But Tendulkar is in a class of one.
There’s lots more stats and other subjective stuff but I guess I ve got my point across![/tscii:83350d4bec]

[Plum]

Bala, :clap: :clap:

Excellent points - I am a big fan of Rahul myself(is maddy around? Freudian interpretation paNNa aarabichuruvAr...) but it's got to be Sachin & Brian for the top batsmen stakes of the past few generations. Ponting, Kallis and Rahul come only after this with Sivanarayana Chandiyar etc bringing up the next tier. I'd rate Rahul above Kallis easily for the match winning knocks. Due to my bias, I'd also rate him above Ricky dude, especially in test matches. I reckon an objective analysis of their careers will lead an impartial observer to the same conclusion viz a viz Rahul Dravidan vs Ricardo Ponting. The WC 2003 100 in the finals obscures Ponting's many flaws.
1. How many single-handle fourth innings centuries he has - I mean, he has 3 unbeaten 4th innings 100s in victory but - has he ever perfromed like Sachin did in Chepauk for that 136? The results shouldnt obscure the fact that Sachin actually almost won a single handed battle there while Ricky has no such effort in his resume - win or lose. He is, at best, Jaishankar in Apoorva SagodharargaL, never a Amrish Puri in Mr India. I mean, forget the subjective part of this- even objectively show me one such winning or losing effort from Mr Ricardo?
2. Well documented weakness against Durby. I mean, it's Durby, for Chris Broad's sake! Someone with that in his resume can never cross the boundary from "very good" to "great", I say!
3. Suspect in swinging and seaming conditions - I say, where are the "114s in Perth", for instance, not to mention those wonderful 150s and 170s in South Africa. What is Ricardo's record in South Africa when not propped up by the Gillys and Haydens and Martyns and Waughs? What is his record in England?

I say, Ricardo doesnt even measure up to the Wall, let alone God.

[Bala (Karthik)]

[tscii:6f115eb855]One more exchange in the comments section of the quoted article


I guess my main point Abh was simply that for anyone to miss only one game in 13 years is very impressive and to do so while maintaining a batting average as good as anyone else of the time even more so (albeit against easier bowling). Sure, a lot of that is good luck, but also a testament to RD's fitness.


Allright,
Then again if you consider 13 yrs 5 mths from his debut (Till 15 Apr 2003) India played 108 Tests and Tendulkar played in 105 of those. So, he missed 3. Dravid missed 1.
But I don’t think the next 7 yrs are going to be quite so good for Dravid![/tscii:6f115eb855]

[Plum]

Bala, Rate and rank:
Ricardo, Rahulan, Kaali(s) paya, Chandiyan, Gary kirustuvan(oru kaalathula he was compared with sachin :lol: )...

[Plum]

I would be the first one to admit that I'm not a complete player," he told me during that first chat. "There are very few. You have to make your own assessments, set your own standards. Sachin [Tendulkar] and [Brian] Lara are in a different league. For the rest of us mere mortals, it's a constant learning process. I know my strengths, just as I know my limitations. In the end, you have to be effective and choose a method that works for you and the team over a period of time."

I like the way he didnt even mention Ricardo.

[Bala (Karthik)]

Bala, Rate and rank:
Ricardo, Rahulan, Kaali(s) paya, Chandiyan, Gary kirustuvan(oru kaalathula he was compared with sachin :lol: )...
Plum,
Rendu visayam:
1) Paakka pidikkakkoodiya batsme
2) 'Best', 'great' batsmen - relatively more objective

Idhu renduthulayume Sachin/Lara top adhu vera vishayam.

Between George Bush and Dravidan, i like to watch the former more than Dravid. What an audacious pull shot he has. That apart i would rate Dravid higher than Ponting - for obvious reasons

Next Kaali paya

[indha tharunathula statistics enna solludhu nu therila. Maybe the numbers would render my 2nd/3rd rung ranking "naansense", i don't know]

As for Soundarapaal and Kirustuvan (:lol: ), rendume sariyana blade. Naathu nadumbodhu kayya pudichu straighta groundukku koottitu vandhutaanga pola irukku Siva Narayanan Saundarapaal-a. Innum konjam kuthunaan-na Vadivel comedy madhiri thanni peerikittu vandhurum. And commando madhiri mai-a vera poosikittu!
Useless digression apart, neenga yaravadhu stats kudutheenganna athan padiye poven. Uninterested to rank them.
[Gary was in a stronger team and Soundarapaal was in a weaker team nu mattum nenaikkaren]

[Plum]

Naathu nadumbodhu straighta koottitu vandhutaanga pola irukku Siva Narayanan Saundarapaal-a. Innum konjam kuthunaan-na Vadivel comedy madhiri thanni peerikittu vandhurum. And commando madhiri mai-a vera poosikittu!

With your kind permission, copying this to 'that' thread :-)

[podaskie]

Was there any fight between dravid and yuvaraj during compaq cup final???


just an argument, not a fight...

[podaskie]

Higher than The Wall!


At a Thai restaurant in Islamabad, after the first day’s play in the final Test in 2004, Rahul Dravid politely declined to stay for dessert, saying he needed to sleep because he had to bat the “whole day tomorrow”. Not early, not in the morning; the whole day.

It led to a few involuntary sniggers at the dinner table, but Dravid had chosen his words carefully. Ten not out overnight, he was unbeaten on 134 when stumps were drawn the following evening. And then, for good measure, he batted almost the whole of the next day as well, finishing on a career-best 270. It wasn’t the most attractive knock, and not nearly his most fluent — in fact, at 12 hours and 20 minutes it was the longest innings by an Indian player ever — but Dravid had ensured, almost single-handedly, that India won their first Test series in Pakistan.

Adelaide, Kolkata, Leeds, Kingston — he will be remembered when, years from now, people talk about what had happened in those cities at the turn of the century. For, scratch a famous Indian victory, and you will uncover a Dravid gem underneath.

Through his career, he has been associated with hard, unwavering grit with a bat in his hands and soft, natural refinement off the field of play. It’s been hard to pick between the great batsman and the perfect gentleman. But, as the French philosopher Voltaire said, “The best way to be boring is to leave nothing out.” So, while Dravid invoked deep admiration and steadfast affection, he did not immediately move fans as much as some of his more naturally attractive peers from this generation of astonishing batsmen.


Perhaps history will judge his true place in Indian cricket, and put him higher than the fifth or sixth place he occupies on the list of most experts. Perhaps history alone will finally realise that “The Wall” is too simplistic a nickname for a batsman of his ilk.

I’ve always believed that Dravid’s famous sobriquet is completely misplaced. As a batsman, he is skillful and prudent, with far more character than a block of brick and mortar. Maybe, at times, he stood firmly like a defensive barrier. But they weren’t necessarily his best moments. There were more occasions when he attacked the very heart of the opposition. “The Wall” barely begins to describe him, so how can it sum him up?

There was a time when Dravid was in grave danger of being consumed by his own quest for technical perfection. Former Australian captain Ian Chappell once said he needed to be told that matches were won not by hours but by runs or wickets.

In those days, when he did manage to get a big score, he was invariably overshadowed by a colleague. Right from his debut 95 at Lord’s in 1996 (when Ganguly cracked 131) to the 148 at Headingley in 2002 (when Tendulkar trumped him with a 193). But at The Oval in the following Test, Dravid smashed a flawless 217. The next highest score was Tendulkar’s 54. The spell was broken, and there was no looking back after that.

This week, seven years later, there were glimpses of the Dravid we know so well in his 177 at Ahmedabad. But the innings was different because it seemed to have the fluency that usually comes only with abandon. Beaten by Dammika Prasad midway through his knock, he hammered the next ball down the ground for four. The Dravid of old would’ve never done that — he would’ve scarcely scored a run for the next few minutes, cross with himself for the momentary lapse of concentration.


Treated unkindly by the national selectors with his sudden inclusion and abrupt exclusion from the one-day team in recent weeks, one might say it was Dravid’s way of showing he should not be trifled with. But, knowing him, that was perhaps the last thing on his mind. He is too clever a student of the art of batting to let anything come in the way of the next ball, next over, next session.

Dravid fell early on the second morning of the Test, having already made a statement with his most entertaining century since Adelaide 2003 — removing not just the scars of the recent one-day snub but also, to an extent, of his only modestly successful stint as captain that ended suddenly in 2007.

The innings was significant for all those reasons. But, situationally speaking, there was nothing new. India was in trouble, and Dravid, its great No 3, batted the whole day again.


http://www.indianexpress.com/news/higher-than-the-wall/543346/1

[VinodKumar's]

TFS podaskie ...

[podaskie]

Alas poor Dravid
Being the man behind the man is not always fun.

Ask Robin. He had the crappy lines, often stuffed up, had a stupid costume, and more often than not had people cast aspersions about his sexuality. On the other hand Batman got the ladies, looked cool in black, was allowed to be moody without being called on it, and kicked ass in hand-to-hand combat.

Rahul Dravid has been the man behind the man his entire career.

The obvious man he is behind is Sachin "Please, may I have a hundred, Kumar" Tendulkar. Dravid is also still behind Lara, Ponting, and Border on the all-time run scoring list. That is not a bad group to be behind. Most of us could handle that. If you were behind Gavin Robertson and Ajit Agarkar, that would suck.

Dravid has made 57 half-centuries in test cricket, which is more than Sachin or Ponting, but Bloody Border has 63. Damn.

It keeps getting worse. Remember when Dravid was part of a partnership of 376 that brought India back from the dead in a Test series against Australia? Well, I was in a Melbourne sport quiz one night, when the question was, "Which player shared a 376-run partnership with VVS Laxman after Australia enforced the follow-on at Kolkata in 2001?" Out of 10 groups, three got it. One of the tables had Indians on it and still got it wrong.

There is also the fact that batting at No. 3 means Dravid quite often has to bat at the other end to the Prophet Sehwag. Even Sachin has to take a back seat to Sehwag. Who can even be bothered looking at the other guy when Sehwag is flailing around his magic wand and showing Sehwagologists the way to live their life?

Dravid is a former captain of India. Sometimes if you are reading a piece by some Kolkata journalist about how great Sourav Ganguly was as a captain, there will be a line or two on Dravid's captaincy. Most other people can't remember any captains before Dhoni.


Dravid is a superfreak with the bat. Born with the patience of an award-winning social worker and a technique so tight that textbooks look on with envy. Plus, he makes a lot of runs. He makes more runs per innings than Tendulkar does, but he hasn't played in as many decades.

It seems to be Dravid's lot in life to be the man behind the man. He doesn't seem to mind, but I do.

It is just that he isn't the guy. He has no essence of being the main man. Even as captain he looked like he was filling in for someone. For the Royal Challengers Bangalore, he should be the main man, but Ross Taylor comes out and slogs across the line and people forget about Dravid. It doesn't matter where he is, or what he does, someone else always gets the attention.

It doesn't mean he isn't an all-time great of the game; he is. It just means that even after he makes 177 in a Test match, he probably still has to wait for a table at a busy restaurant. Someone of his quality should get the best table in the joint straight away every time.


http://www.cricinfo.com/page2/content/story/436289.html

[podaskie]

[tscii:2e0a8b4e6c]The God Of Fine Things

Style, grace, aggression and infinite patience. SURESH MENON on why Rahul Dravid is the intelligent man’s guide to what a sportsman ought to be
Art of positioning Only one of Dravid’s 27 centuries was made in a game India lost
PHOTOS: REUTERS


IN HIS first Test, as indeed in his latest, Rahul Dravid invited both congratulations and commiserations. In fact, the one often came with the other in his career. He made 95 on debut at Lord’s, and it was impossible to congratulate him without commiserating with him; likewise after his brilliant 177 against Sri Lanka in Ahmedabad – great innings mate, but tough luck, you missed a sixth double century.

To be defined by what he has missed has sometimes been Dravid’s fate. When he made 180 in a Test match, he was upstaged by a man who made 281; that innings by VVS Laxman is rated as the best by an Indian batsman. When Dravid made his then highest one-day score of 145, Sourav Ganguly made 183 in the same innings; when he topped that by making 153 against New Zealand, Sachin Tendulkar made an unbeaten 186. Is Rahul Dravid the best supporting act in the history of the game or a great player born in the wrong decade?

He is the best supporting act in the history of the game (a world record 78 century partnerships in Tests) and a great player (over 10,000 runs in both forms of the game). It is tempting to conclude that he was born in the wrong decade, forcing him to play in the shadow of Sachin Tendulkar, but that hardly matters to the man who is in competition with no one but himself, and who was secure enough to say at one time, “Most people want me to get out quickly so they can watch Sachin bat.”

Today even the die-hard Tendulkar acolyte is willing to wait, for he knows that Dravid getting out early usually spells disaster. At 32 for four against Sri Lanka, not even Sehwag, Tendulkar and Laxman carried back into the pavilion with them all the hopes of a nation. Dravid was still batting, and that was reason enough to go about the normal business of living a life. He did not disappoint, guiding India past 400. While a Sehwag or a Tendulkar cry halt to life in the nation, with fans dropping whatever they are doing to watch the action, Dravid lets life go on. It is as if his countrymen are saying, adapting Robert Browning, ‘Rahul’s at the crease, All’s right with the world.’

Dravid is the least obtrusive of players, he demands little mind space. He wears his passion on one sleeve, his intelligence on the other. It is a rare combination that evokes awe rather than love, admiration more than conviviality. He is the intelligent man’s guide to what a sportsman ought to be – modest, dependable, well educated, with the gift of grace under pressure and a perspective that is adult. He is the comfort for those who know they cannot be Sachin Tendulkar, he was once described by Virender Sehwag as “a psychologist, a man to take all your problems to”.

While carving out a distinct cricketing personality despite performing alongside Tendulkar, Dravid ensured that the Indian team retained some of the old-fashioned values unique to cricket. For some years after that Kolkata partnership with Laxman, Dravid carried the Indian batting on his shoulders, saving Test matches in Port of Spain, Georgetown and Nottingham and playing the key role in victories in Headingley, Adelaide, Kandy and Rawalpindi. He had four centuries in successive innings, and four double centuries in a span of 15 Tests. He made an incredible 23 percent of the runs made by India in the 21 victories under Sourav Ganguly, at an average of 102.84. His overall average crossed Tendulkar’s, and his wicket became the most sought after by the bowlers.
Grace in spotlight After four successive centuries, his wicket became the most coveted


IT IS necessary to descend into statistics only to underline the fact that with Dravid it is never beauty without cruelty – he is a stylish batsman who makes it count, a do-gooder who is focussed on the result, a century-maker whose innings are not out of touch with team performance but an integral part of it. No ploughing the lonely furrow here, every part is a piece of the main.

And yet Tendulkar has to be the starting point for any assessment of Dravid, just as Don Bradman was for a study of Walter Hammond or Gary Sobers for the understanding of Rohan Kanhai. Such men are, to twist a modern usage, the significant other in the careers of batsmen who will appear with an asterisk against their names because a colleague or rival did everything they did, often at a higher level and usually with greater energy.

It isn’t just the cricket, of course.

There is a dignity about Dravid that scares away those looking for the kind of mix in character that makes for celebrity and simplifies the job of the marketing managers. Here is a man untouched by scandal; the worst thing he has done on a cricket field is chew on a lozenge. Match referee Clive Lloyd pulled him up for ball tampering, arguing that he could have been interfering with its condition. When Tendulkar received a similar ruling for a similarly innocent action, he was pulled up too. Dravid’s infraction was laughed off as a silly episode, but Tendulkar’s provoked a national outburst and an international incident.

Dravid’s coolness makes him less than cool, his sobriety works against his being the kind of public hero that Ganguly is in Kolkata, Mahendra Singh Dhoni in Jharkhand or Tendulkar everywhere. Had Dravid met the Formula One champion Damon Hill he might have borrowed the poster that Hill had over his desk which said in large letters: ‘I am not a nice guy’. Niceness is not marketable; Dravid is tough-minded (as he showed when declaring the Indian innings with Tendulkar unbeaten on 194 in Multan), but lacks the edge that divides people.

Had Tendulkar not existed (and it would have been impossible to invent him), we would be singing hosannas to Dravid today with the same spontaneity and lack of self consciousness with which we call Tendulkar god. The media would be holding debates over who the greatest Indian batsman was – Dravid or Sunil Gavaskar. After rolling out the clichés (comparisons are odious etc) someone digging deeper would unearth the fact that Gavaskar averaged 44 in 23 India wins while Dravid averages 67 in 44 India victories (his average in defeats, 26, gives us a hint to his value). Or that Dravid averages eight runs per innings better abroad than at home or that only one of his 27 centuries was made in a lost game


Of all sports, cricket is the least interested in context, least affected by milieu. Its nature – a series of discrete events making up the whole in 50 overs or five days – makes it possible to isolate individual events and appreciate them without a thought to their relevance to the big picture. Taken in isolation, Dravid’s record is superb; in the context of victories on the one hand and defeats avoided on the other, it is stunning.

In the days when India lost more than they won, it was comforting to divorce individual performances from team results. Australia might have thrashed India, but there was Vijay Hazare’s two centuries in the match to celebrate; India might have sunk to a new low against the West Indies, but there was solace in Sunil Gavaskar’s batting.

The great player has the figures to show for it. And if there is an essential difference between Tendulkar and Dravid, technically two of the soundest batsmen of this or any other age, then it is in their choice in the aesthetic debate. Tendulkar, less elaborate in defence, more creative in attack would place efficiency above style. Dravid, taller, leaner, more stylish would lay greater store by doing the right thing the right way, the process as important as the product.
Significant other For any assessment of Dravid, Tendulkar has to be the starting point


THIS IS as much the result of upbringing as education. Dravid’s school and college were Jesuit institutions which emphasised the process in the belief that if you did that the product took care of itself. At the release of his biography, while thanking the speakers for the praise showered on him, Dravid said, “If you do something nice by the time you are 30 , some make it sound like you have done absolutely fantastic. All these things said about me are exaggerated, so when you read this book, read everything with a pinch of salt.” A classic forward defence, and a nice line in self-deprecation too!

This was in Bengaluru, a city where Dravid is taken for granted by those who have shared in his trials and triumphs, and where he might pop up at a popular restaurant or a rock show without being fussed over. I remember watching his progress through the crowd at a Rolling Stones concert. He didn’t expect any favours. But someone informed former spinner Dilip Doshi, Mick Jagger’s friend, who then escorted Dravid to his seat. He doesn’t need disguises to get about like Tendulkar does in Mumbai – a tribute as much to his low key personality as to the maturity of his fans in his home town.

On the field too it is the same story. Tendulkar’s batting is a joy of straight lines and geometric precision; Dravid’s bat makes no angles to the wind but describes beautiful arcs. In this, he is the spiritual successor to Gundappa Vishwanath, whose secret of the ferocious square cut was passed on to him in that mysterious way cricketing genes jump from one generation to another. When he was selected for India, Dravid told a colleague, “I don’t want to be just another player. I want to be bracketed with Gavaskar and Vishwanath.” The schoolboy Dravid had photographs taken with his two heroes. In time he would dine at the high table with them.

He played more strokes more consistently than Gavaskar and the more risky ones with greater safety than Vishwanath. Alone among his generation he pulled the fast bowler, either standing tall and dismissing the ball with a roll of the wrists or pirouetting to get both the timing and the placement right, and occasionally ending up facing the wicket keeper. It was only after playing 94 Tests in a row since debut that he was forced to miss a game through illness – a tribute to his fitness.

What he lacked was an endorsement from someone like Don Bradman that put the seal on the stature of Tendulkar. Walter Hammond who might have done so died before Dravid was born, and Greg Chappell is of too recent a vintage to put his seal on anyone. There is something of the younger Chappell’s elegance in Dravid’s driving and his sleek movements against spin.

SOME YEARS ago, Dravid said that on the off side, only god had a better drive than Ganguly; well might Ganguly have returned that compliment, except that god’s competition would be Dravid on the on-side. Mahela Jayawardene alone among modern batsmen plays the leg glance with the assurance of a Dravid, who, in the course of a long innings suggests that the on side belongs to him. It was some years before he played with the same confidence on the off side, but now has one of the best cover drives in the game.
Arc of dignity The worst thing Dravid has done on a cricket field is to chew on a logenze


It has always been thus with Dravid – an initial suggestion of an Achilles’ heel followed by hard work and then emergence as the best in the field. This is as true of the cover drive as of one-day cricket, and more recently the Twenty20 version where he shone in the second edition of the IPL in South Africa after a forgettable inaugural season.

Dravid’s father and uncle were both cricketers, and to them as to Rahul cricket is more than a game, it is a philosophy. Early in his career, he made it clear that he was prepared to bat at any slot for India, keep wickets if necessary and probably prepare the pitch, paint the stadium and man the car park too. His involvement in the game is total. This kind of focus is old-fashioned, obsessive and difficult for an outsider to understand in anyone over 12 years of age. Both Tendulkar and Dravid continue to bring that passion into their game, their idea of the perfect day not very different from their normal day playing cricket, batting on and on.

But while Tendulkar dominates through attack, Dravid is content to let his domination remain a secret between the bowler and himself. Only the discerning can tell that he has the bowler on the run, there are no great flashes or overt gestures of aggression. Like a great actor, Dravid prefers to underplay his role, make his impact by understatement, and occasionally let the bowler run out of steam by the sureness of his defence.

His nickname — the Wall — is inappropriate. A wall is a passive thing, letting things happen to it. It merely blocks an advance without repelling it. Dravid’s is not a passive resistance; it is a calculated strategy employed in the knowledge that his strength, both physical and mental, is superior to the bowler’s. And he takes the fight to the enemy camp.

Test cricket came naturally to Dravid, as it did to Gavaskar before him, Hazare and Vijay Merchant before that. It is tempting to imagine that the quintessential ‘Dravidness’ is to be found in the longer form of the game. Yet, it is in overcoming his initial unsuitability for oneday cricket and succeeding at it that he has exhibited the qualities of head and heart that make him special. It was a mental leap that Gavaskar could not make. Dravid had to work harder at gaining acceptance in the shorter format.Is Rahul Dravid the best supporting act in the history of the game or a great player born in the wrong decade?


In the early days, Dravid had the shots but could be kept quiet over long periods by setting an orthodox field. He seldom played over the top. And on good tracks he didn’t play on the rise like Tendulkar or Ganguly. In his first year of international cricket, Dravid had a highest score of 90 in one-dayers and a respectable average of around 28 from 20 matches. Next year he had a century against Pakistan and an average of 40. But now came the intrigue, never far from the surface in Indian cricket. He was told that since the team had strokeplayers of the calibre of Tendulkar, Mohammad Azharuddin, Ganguly, Ajay Jadeja, his role was to keep one end going and bat through 50 overs.

He followed his instructions so well, concentrating on keeping his wicket, that he was dropped for his falling strike rate. He was labeled and dismissed – a classic Indian gambit. However, once Dravid fought his way back for the World Cup in 1999, he emerged a fine all-round one-day batsman, playing the angles well and unafraid to loft the ball. He emerged as the leading batsman of the tournament, with 461 runs, two centuries, an average of 66 and a strike rate of 86.

SOON HE became a wonderful floater in the batting line-up, with specific roles while opening, playing at three or lower down as insurance policy to see the side home in a chase. Despite not liking the job he kept wickets too, for it enabled India to play the extra batsman or bowler as the occasion demanded.The average player cannot comprehend Tendulkar’s genius. Dravid’s greatness is not just comprehensible, it is reassuring


One-day cricket also brought out the difference between Vishwanath and Dravid. The former became increasingly orthodox in the latter part of his career, a change necessitated by advancing age and slower reflexes. Vishwanath changed his guard from leg to middle stump and began playing straighter. Dravid went in the opposite direction. He discovered aspects of himself that may have remained hidden but for the dictates of the one-day game. He gradually freed himself of the shackles of excessive orthodoxy and played a more creative game, delighting at the reserves in his repertoire.

SUCH HAS been the effect of the one-day game on an intelligent mind. After all, there are only nine positions that can be blocked on a cricket field (if you take away the bowler and the wicketkeeper). There are gaps that cannot be manned. The arc between mid on and mid-wicket became a Dravid favourite as did the open space to the left of cover point. If the captain rearranged the field Dravid had enough variation to place the ball in other untenanted areas.

When he took over as captain, Dravid emphasised the importance of enjoying the game. Like the American constitution, he laid great store by the pursuit of happiness. This was good strategy too. For, as he said, you cannot perform unless you are relaxed.

When he gave up captaincy after the England tour following a series of unhappy encounters with the then chairman of selectors, he was following in the footsteps of Tendulkar who gave it up because much as he loved the job, he hated the politics that went with it.Tendulkar’s batting is a joy of straight lines, geometric precision. Dravid’s bat makes no angles to the wind, it makes beautiful arcs


Last year Mark Waugh, then holder of the Test record with 181 catches, said he hoped Dravid would make a pair in the Mohali Test and be dropped for the rest of the series, and presumably forever. Dravid then had 176 catches, and would soon overtake the Australian. There might be debates over who the greatest Indian batsman is, or which of the spinners deserves to be No. 1. But one such assertion is beyond argument – that Dravid is the greatest slip fielder we have had. And in keeping with both the character of the game and the character of the man himself, it is not something that has used up column inches in newspapers or whatever it is that is used up in cyberspace.

Dravid is not a flashy catcher at slip — his anticipation gets him into position quickly and there is no need for desperate lunges or dramatic dives — but few edges go past. He is superbly balanced, and a study in the art of positioning, especially against the spinners. That one hundred of his catches have come off the Anil Kumble-Harbhajan Singh combination underlines the crucial role he has played in the careers of India’s two most successful spinners. With minimum fuss, as always.

In the one-day game, he was happy to stand wider than normal, but in Tests he is the orthodox fielder, taking his bearings from the batsman and the extension of the return crease.

When Dravid quits, he will leave behind two gaping holes — one in the middle order as a batsman of the highest class, and one at slip as the best India has produced.

In this, the natural comparison is probably with Hammond, an elegant batsman with the most famous cover drive in the game and an exceptional catcher at slip who might have been the greatest batsman of his time but for the arrival of the less elegant but more effective Bradman. Dravid is the oldfashioned modern steeped in the history and legends of the game.While Tendulkar dominates through attack, Dravid lets his domination remain a secret between the bowler and himself


Cricket is one of the few sports where the term ‘old-fashioned’ is a compliment. Rafael Nadal, for instance would be insulted if you called him an old fashioned tennis player. It is a quirk of the language, and perhaps of the game itself that ‘old fashioned’ does not mean hidebound, inflexible, or anything negative. It describes a player who uses traditional methods to meet modern challenges, someone who understands the grammar of the game and uses it to compose its essays.

Every profession has the uber-professional, one who is looked up to by his peers, and commands their respect for the ability to do things that even the best among them struggle to. And it is not just about skill, although that is important too. It is about temperament, about discipline and a remarkable ability to get out of trouble when the going gets rough. For nearly a decade and a half, Dravid has been playing that role in Indian cricket.

That is why it seems perfectly natural that he steps in to strengthen the bridge between the present and the future whenever the great hopes of tomorrow flounder. It happened most recently when he was picked for the Champions Trophy after being out of the one-day game for two years. Clearly his brief was not properly explained to him – was this an ad-hoc appointment because the tournament was played on the bouncy wickets of South Africa where many bright young stars of the first IPL had come to grief? Did it mean that he would be in the squad for the 2011 World Cup? Or were the selectors going to play it by ear?When Dravid quits he will leave behind two gaping holes — as a batsman of the highest class and the best slip India has produced


Dravid did well enough to retain his place, but found greater competition on the easier home wickets and had to make way for a youngster. It is a bit embarrassing that a player of his stature is being played like a yo-yo at either end of his career: the uncertainties of youth being followed by the uncertainties of experience, with a middle phase where his authority was unquestioned.

It has taken Dravid two years to climb out of the hole Indian cricket dug for him on the tour of England. Soon after that series, even some of the junior players attacked him in the finest traditions of kicking a man when he is down. His batting suffered a crisis of confidence, his fielding faltered too. He went 14 innings without a century, his average slipped to 38. An increasing number of people wrote him off, many advised graceful retirement as an alternative to public struggle. But they forgot this was Dravid. Nothing inspires him more than the cry that he is inadequate.

CENTURIES AGAINST South Africa and England failed to convince the nay-sayers. A good series in New Zealand ended cries for his head and then came the century in Ahmedabad. It was vintage Dravid, clean, aggressive, and with the control that had frustrated bowlers in his best years.To Dravid, cricket is more than a game; it is a philosophy. It is this attitude that he has occasionally had to pay the price for


Suddenly, at 36, the world has opened up for the two Indian greats. Tendulkar’s stunning 175 in a one-dayer against Australia has probably ended speculation over his place in the team for the World Cup. Dravid might make it yet. But it won’t worry him if he does not. For he is back making runs, and making them in the manner he enjoys best.

Tendulkar’s genius is of an order that the average player cannot comprehend. Dravid’s greatness is not just comprehensible, it is reassuring. The Tendulkars of the cricketing world appear but rarely, and when they leave, it is generally accepted that the gap can never be filled. It is the Gavaskars and Dravids who spawn successors. Dravid might have to wait before his true worth is realised, and his incredible contribution to Indian cricket fully acknowledged. He is a man of infinite patience, and is unlikely to be in any hurry.



http://www.tehelka.com/story_main43.asp?filename=Ne281109coverstory.asp[/tscii:2e0a8b4e6c]

[ajithfederer]

Dravid is on 11123 with 85*, 222 short of Ponting. Kamaan Dravid.

:yes:

[VinodKumar's]

Podaskie TFS .... :ty: :ty: :ty:

[VinodKumar's]

Dravid is on 11123 with 85*, 222 short of Ponting. Kamaan Dravid.

:yes:

:2thumbsup:

[VinodKumar's]

Yet another century for The Wall ...

[VinodKumar's]

107.3

Herath to Dravid, SIX, Dravid proves just why that maiden was an aberration, gave it some air and he sensed a chance, danced down the track and launched him over long-on

[ajithfederer]

Dravid :clap:

Goes past Border.

[Dinesh84]

170 runs behind Panding..

[VinodKumar's]

Ravis shastry's comment

the only way you can imagine rahul dravid to get out

[podaskie]

[tscii:4eb24eba3c]Rahul Dravid laid the platform for the hosts with a serene, yet commanding 144 before Yuvraj Singh and VVS Laxman hit fluent fifties to lead India to a position of immense strength in Kanpur. India consolidated their position further by removing Tillakaratne Dilshan for a first-ball duck, and would also have been boosted by a probing spell from Harbhajan Singh and an encouraging one from Pragyan Ojha. Sri Lanka found a reason to smile due to Rangana Herath's five-for that terminated the Indian innings just after tea but it was a little too late for the visitors and the result of the game will now depend on how the pitch behaves.

Spare a thought for Dilshan, though. After toiling in the field for nearly two days, he was out first ball, getting a leading edge while attempting to flick an innocuous delivery outside leg stump from Zaheer Khan. Contrast it with the fortunes of Virender Sehwag who was dropped in the first over yesterday. It has been that kind of Test for Sri Lanka; not much has happened for them and till Herath introduced some drama into the game, nothing went right for them even today.

It was a classic grind-to-dust approach by the Indians led by Dravid, who, during the course of his 28th century went past Allan Border's run tally in Tests. The stand-out factor in Dravid's batting during this series has been his intent. He's been decisive, in defense and attack, and has been aggressively looking to score. Today he displayed the full repertoire: the charges down the track, the gorgeous inside-out cover drives on a stretched front foot, and the skillful punches off the back foot all were there but what stood out was a late cut against Mendis. The ball was skidding towards off stump, Dravid checked his forward press, waited for the ball to arrive before opening the blade and gliding it past backward point. There was no violence, just pure timing, and the stroke captured the spirit of his innings.


Dravid seemed impossible to dismiss, and when his end came, it was bizarre and perhaps, as that cricketing cliché goes, the only way he would have got out today. VVS Laxman hit one hard back at the bowler Rangana Herath, who spilled the catch, and the ball fell on the stumps with Dravid out of the crease at the non-striker's end.


Dravid left after leading India's charge and, in a reversal of their usual roles, was the dominant batsman in a 94-run partnership with Sachin Tendulkar. Tendulkar didn't hit a single boundary till his 87th delivery, when he pranced down the track to lift Mendis over long-off. A few balls later, however, he was dismissed trying to repeat the shot but couldn't clear mid-off. The credit must go to Mendis for dragging back the length this time around.


Following the two dismissals, the afternoon saw some classic yawn-inducing Test cricket: The pitch was benign, the sun was out, Sri Lanka were flattened and India were almost on auto-pilot with Laxman and Yuvraj cruising to half-centuries without breaking a sweat.

Yuvraj, who can be an iffy starter against quality spin, faced no problems as he settled in with imperious drives and a few sweep shots. His best was a late cut against Mendis: He had just lifted the previous delivery to long-on boundary and Mendis shortened the length of the next one and got it to skid away from the stumps. Yuvraj went back and played a late slice-cum-cut to the third-man boundary. It reflected his confidence against his previous nemesis and also said much about the state of the pitch and the match.

Laxman, too, looked set for a hundred until he sliced a flighted delivery from Herath straight to mid-off. Till then, he worked the angles well against the spinners, using his wrists to flick and drive the ball, and unfurled couple of caressed drives against the seamers.

Herath gave Sri Lanka some thing to cheer about by striking with his carrom balls. He removed a clueless MS Dhoni, Harbhajan Singh, and Pragyan Ojha with finger-flicked deliveries that broke back in from outside off to hit the stumps or the pad and lured Zaheer to edge to slip.


Not only Herath but Muttiah Muralitharan too turned in an improved performance today. His flight was always there but today the loop and the dip gained potency. India would have been lifted by the couple of balls from Murali that spun and bounced appreciably in the first session and the amount of spin, though slow, Herath and Harbhajan found late in the day. Perhaps the pitch was showing some signs of life. Maybe it was just an oddity. Only time will tell.


http://www.cricinfo.com/indvsl2009/content/current/story/436518.html[/tscii:4eb24eba3c]

[podaskie]

Smart stats on dravid todays 100


This is the tenth instance of the top three batsmen in a line-up all getting hundreds in the same innings. It's the fifth instance in the current decade, and the third for India.


Rahul Dravid's 144 is his fourth-fastest innings of 100 or more runs. The 177 he scored in the previous Test in Ahmedabad is in third place. During the course of the innings

he also became the fourth-highest run-getter in Tests, going past Allan Border.


Dravid's strike rate was highest against Muttiah Muralitharan - in 45 balls from him, Dravid scored 33, including four fours, for a strike rate of 73.33. It was 67.92 against Rangana Herath and 59.09 against Ajantha Mendis.

[podaskie]

COVER STORY -SPORTSTAR MAGAZINE

He gets going when the going gets tough

Rahul Dravid has steel in his bones. He is one of those rare cricketers who actually relishes playing in adverse situations. They appear to stoke his combative instincts, writes S. Dinakar.


The subtle technical change he made reflected his analytical mind. Rahul Dravid had opened up his stance as he took on the English pacemen in Mohali. Ahead of the final Test against England last season, he had been bothered by deliveries leaving him. He was not certain about his off-stump.

But Dravid thought his way out of troubled times. A two-eyed stance enables a batsman to have a good look at deliveries on and outside the off-stump.

The in-coming ball is a threat to a batsman with such a stance but Dravid was getting his left foot across and covering the movement. The batsmen with two-eyed stance are well-placed for the pull or the flick but their driving, particularly the full-flowing ones, on the off-side can be limited. Perhaps, Dravid wanted to limit his shots on the off-side.

His game plan was simple: follow closely the ball on or outside the off-stump and take out the extravagant drives on the off-side.

This was a phase, ahead of India’s tour of New Zealand, when Dravid’s place in the Indian team was seemingly on the line. He was short of runs and needed to make a substantial contribution to the team and for himself. The conditions were overcast and the English pacemen had struck early on the first morning. And in walked Dravid.

His new stance was immediately obvious. And his technical switch worked. He was more certain of himself in the corridor, was fluent on the on-side and judiciously scored with firm pushes and checked drives on the off-side. The big drives through covers were out. He made a fighting 136 in difficult conditions. Dravid’s Test career was back on track.

Later in the season, when India visited New Zealand, Dravid, his confidence and rhythm back, reverted to his old side-on stance.

Dravid’s batsmanship is not only about temperament, determination or a one-dimensional technique. It’s a lot about a mind that can make tactical switches.



Rahul Dravid and Tendulkar at the nets. Apart from the ‘Little Master’ no other Indian batsman handles the combination of lateral movement and bounce better than Dravid.



Now, the runs are flowing from the 36-year-old’s blade. Dravid’s run of scores in the three Tests in New Zealand were 66 and 8 not out (in Hamilton), 83 and 62 (Napier) and 35 and 60 (Wellington).

When India resumed Test cricket after a gap of seven months, Dravid’s 177 in the first Test in Ahmedabad — constructed in difficult circumstances after India, with the new ball darting around, was reduced to 32 for four on the first morning — was typical of the man. The conditions for batting were demanding during the opening session of the first Test against Sri Lanka and Dravid was on the ball. He was water-tight around the off-stump, played close to the ball and put away the loose deliveries ruthlessly on either side of the wicket.

Dravid can blunt pace attacks with a rock-solid defence off either foot and when the frustrated fast bowler attempts something different, he can be severe with his response as he was with his positive hundred at Motera. Not for nothing is he amongst the world’s most successful No. 3 batsmen ever.

During his big hundred, Dravid reached the 11,000-run mark in Tests; he is only the fifth batsman to achieve the feat.

Dravid has 11038 runs in 135 Tests at 53.06 with 27 hundreds and 57 half-centuries. His away record — 6430 runs in 75 Tests at 56.90 with 16 hundreds — compares favourably with his home record — 4608 runs in 60 Tests at 48.50 with 11 centuries.

Apart from Sachin Tendulkar, no other Indian batsman handles the combination of lateral movement and bounce better than Dravid. And Dravid bats at No. 3 when the ball is likely to be new and hard, when the pacemen will run in and hustle the batsmen with bounce.

The batsman from Karnataka plays the short ball particularly well, never ducking too early, keeping his eyes on the ball to sway away from the line and playing on his toes with soft hands and a vertical blade, or pulling and hooking.

A glimpse at his records in major cricketing nations outside the sub-continent reveals his stature. Dravid has 972 runs in 12 Tests in Australia (average: 48.60), 915 in nine Tests in England (65.35), 766 in seven Tests in New Zealand (63.83), 1260 runs in 14 Tests in the West Indies (70.00). It is only in South Africa that he has been less consistent by his lofty standards — 504 runs in eight Tests at 33.60.

And he remains one of India’s foremost match-winners in crunch Tests, particularly on foreign soil. Dravid’s 148 under a cloud cover at Leeds in 2002 was a masterpiece. India went on to nail the Test.

His 233 and 72 not out in Adelaide guided India to a sensational victory over Australia in 2003. And Dravid’s inspiring 270 in the decider in Rawalpindi — the mentally tough Dravid has 550 runs in six Tests in Pakistan at 78.57 — was largely instrumental in India registering a historic Test series win across the border.

The studious right-hander’s efforts of 81 and 68 on a wicked Kingston track in 2006 provided India a memorable away Test series triumph in the West Indies.

Even when he was not in best of form, Dravid willed himself to a priceless innings of 93 in Perth in 2008. India ambushed the Aussies on a lively track. The man’s got steel in his bones. He is one of those rare cricketers who actually relishes playing in adverse situations. They appear to stoke his combative instincts. Crucially, he remains calm in the cauldron.

If his effort in Ahmedabad is any indication, there is a lot more cricket left in Dravid. Apart from playing the pacemen with composure and craft, he uses the depth of the crease wonderfully well against the spinners for those old-fashioned shots behind point. Dravid’s commitment continues to glitter. And he is back among big runs.


http://www.sportstaronnet.com/stories/20091128500900400.htm

[ajithfederer]

Ricky Thomas Ponting/ 137 matches/11400 runs/55.88 (http://www.cricinfo.com/ci/content/player/7133.html)

Rahul Sharad Dravid/136 matches/11182 runs/53.30 (http://www.cricinfo.com/ci/content/player/28114.html)

It doesn't get better than this.

[podaskie]

Dravid’s free-flowing batting is a true reflection of his positive mindset



http://www.deccanherald.com/content/38399/a-touch-swagger-indias-crisis.html

[VinodKumar's]

As usual they forgot you man !!! :cry3: :cry3: :cry3:

[steveaustin]

As usual they forgot you man !!! :cry3: :cry3: :cry3:

:roll:

[VinodKumar's]

As usual they forgot you man !!! :cry3: :cry3: :cry3:

:roll:

I am trying to define MOS :D

[steveaustin]

As usual selective amnesia. :P
For me, he is the wall as well as crisis man for India.

[ajithfederer]

God of slips

Anupam Pratihary


Envy and admiration rarely go together. But when one watches Rahul Dravid in a slip cordon, taking those breathtaking blinders, these contrasting feelings run through the veins.

Is Dravid naturally gifted, genetically designed to be a slipper or is it hours and hours of practice at the nets?. © AFP

On the second thought, it should be easier on our conscience for we lesser mortals are not even engineered to create such beautiful cricketing moments. But what about iconic names like Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman who stand next to him in the slip cordon. Both of them are fine slippers in their own right but deep down even they know Dravid is a class apart.

Is Dravid naturally gifted, genetically designed to be a slipper or is it hours and hours of practice at the nets? The answer probably lies somewhere in the middle.

It was quite evident in the half-an-hour of specialized fielding session at the nets. Coach Gary Kirsten was at the helm — with the bat. Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid formed the slip cordon with MS Dhoni donning the gloves. The ball was ‘seriously traveling’ to the three slippers but the trio made catching look a simple affair. At the point of impact, the ball made a muffled sound when it hit the hands of Sachin and Laxman but in case of Rahul it was as if his hands were fitted with a silencer.

A closer look revealed the perfect alignment of Dravid’s body while waiting for an edge to come his way. With his palms open and hands bend at the elbow, Dravid crouches really low. With the two legs nicely spaced and body weight equally distributed, the back makes a beautiful arch forward, giving him a perfect balance to move either side.

A set of 10 catches kept coming at them; Sachin and Laxman dropped a few but the ball kept disappearing into Dravid’s soft hands. In the entire session, he probably dropped one but pulled off several stunning catches. One stunning left-handed catch even left Sachin, Gary, Laxman and Dhoni clapping in sheer admiration.

It’s only in the fitness of things that the world record of highest number of catches (186) in Test cricket rests on his shoulder as effortlessly and gracefully as he makes those catches.

http://www.cricketnirvana.com/features-article/2009/December/features-article-20091201-1.html[tscii:7d3d5cdc99][/tscii:7d3d5cdc99]

[VinodKumar's]

TFS AF

[ajithfederer]

http://www.cricinfo.com/india/content/image/438409.html?page=1

Rahul Dravid was presented a commemorative plaque for taking most catches in Tests, Mumbai, December 6, 2009

[podaskie]

http://www.cricinfo.com/india/content/image/438409.html?page=1

Rahul Dravid was presented a commemorative plaque for taking most catches in Tests, Mumbai, December 6, 2009


kool info AF...

[VinodKumar's]

Thanks again feddy :clap:

[Plum]

Why will you miss Rahuk? Has he announced retirement or something?
(Been away from news for a few days - haven't been checking any media outlet.pls clarify)

[Kalyasi]

Why will you miss Rahuk? Has he announced retirement or something?
(Been away from news for a few days - haven't been checking any media outlet.pls clarify)

Innum Konja naalaikku Test Match e kedayaathu after the two test against Bangladesh...

[VinodKumar's]

cha en siggy ah paathu ellorum ippdiyae ketkuraanga ....

kalyasi neengalavathu correct ah purinjikitingalae :ty:

[Bala (Karthik)]

Why will you miss Rahuk? Has he announced retirement or something?
(Been away from news for a few days - haven't been checking any media outlet.pls clarify)

Innum Konja naalaikku Test Match e kedayaathu after the two test against Bangladesh...
2011 la Nov Bangladesh series-amaam, naan ippo dhaan padichu therinjikitten. Is a media gag rule in order for Sashin from BCCI?

[Kalyasi]

Why will you miss Rahuk? Has he announced retirement or something?
(Been away from news for a few days - haven't been checking any media outlet.pls clarify)

Innum Konja naalaikku Test Match e kedayaathu after the two test against Bangladesh...
2011 la Nov Bangladesh series-amaam, naan ippo dhaan padichu therinjikitten. Is a media gag rule in order for Sashin from BCCI?

Jan 2010 la 2 test Bangladesh oda... 2011 Nov la WI oda we play @ home.... Away tests ellam konjam naduvila irukku....

[Bala (Karthik)]

Oh ok, aragoraya padichen pola...

[Kalyasi]

Oh ok, aragoraya padichen pola...

Munnadi ellam BCCI indu iduppula gap kedacha, avasarama ethavathu tour organise pannuvaanga illa... antha maadri ellam ICC oda sanda pottu ethavathu test series a ulla vida mudiyatha?

Nalla velai Ponting intha rendu test layum onnum adikkala..Nalaikkum, adutha testlayum WIndies avana mattum cheap score ku out aakidanum..... athe maadri Pak odayum naasama poitaan na santhosama irupen...

Mohammed Aamer, Mohammed Asif a thaan nambi iruken

[Nerd]

cha en siggy ah paathu ellorum ippdiyae ketkuraanga ....


naanum apdi dhaan nenaichi news ellAm thEdi pAthEn :shaking:

Btw, Rahul-kku yEn MOS kudukkalai? ellA match-um adichadhu avaru dhaanE :twisted:

[VinodKumar's]

cha en siggy ah paathu ellorum ippdiyae ketkuraanga ....


naanum apdi dhaan nenaichi news ellAm thEdi pAthEn :shaking:

Btw, Rahul-kku yEn MOS kudukkalai? ellA match-um adichadhu avaru dhaanE :twisted:

ada ponga nerd avaru team la iruntharungaratha yaravathu nyabagam vatchurunthavae periya matteru ... ithula MOS vera :lol: :lol:

[tamizharasan]

In this series Shewag might have made more contribution than Dravid, because he scored centuries in both winning matches. But overall no other batsman has won more test matches for India than Dravid. Hopefully selector are grateful to him for this.

[ajithfederer]

@ ^^^^

On the ground fact itself it is statistically wrong.

Dravid is the most complimenting batsmen in this era. Most of his hundreds(Read very carefully) have been complimented with other batsmen's contributions as well. And to your other post Shewag is too early to be included in that list as he has not even completed 10 years in test cricket.

[ajithfederer]

Ok let me put it clearly.

Dravid has been involved in 46 wins with India. This roughly I think will put him second in the list. (SRT is the first batsman to cross 50 wins and that is why I said it is statiscally wrong). 6 of the wins were before 2000 and 40 of them were after 2000. When I say Dravid is the most complimenting batsman I mean that there were other contributions from other batsman too. Say for example (Kolkatta 2001- Here we have Laxman's 281 and in Adelaide 2003 we again have Lax's 148).

Again I am not saying that Dravid NEVER contributed single handedly. Dravid has clearly been one of the centrestages of Indian Test batting in this decade but my argument is he wasn't the sole batsman who has been giving winning knocks.



Dravid /46 wins (http://stats.cricinfo.com/ci/engine/player/28114.html?class=1;filter=advanced;orderby=start;r esult=1;template=results;type=batting;view=match).
If you guys have the patience these are the won matches in which Dravid has played for India.You can click on the Individual match links for yourself.

[ajithfederer]

And in Test cricket the matches in which batsman play to save a game for defeat and in eventually drawing the matches are given a raw deal.

[tamizharasan]

The greatest match winner from India The Wall.

http://hinduonnet.com/tss/tss2719/stories/20040508008307800.htm

[Bala (Karthik)]

-edited-
Feddy,
Please keep them coming.

[ajithfederer]

That link is from May 2004 :fatigue:

[ajithfederer]

Steve waugh and Ponting are greater Australian batsmen compared to Sir Don Bradman simply because they have won more number of Tests.

[VinodKumar's]

Steve waugh and Ponting are greater Australian batsmen compared to Sir Don Bradman simply because they have won more number of Tests.

This may be true for people who thinks win matters more than any other things ...

[ajithfederer]

Yes but not for people with commonsense.


Steve waugh and Ponting are greater Australian batsmen compared to Sir Don Bradman simply because they have won more number of Tests.

This may be true for people who thinks win matters more than any other things ...

[Bala (Karthik)]

Steve waugh and Ponting are greater Australian batsmen compared to Sir Don Bradman simply because they have won more number of Tests.

This may be true for people who thinks win matters more than any other things ...
Vinod,
That's what Feddy is trying to point out - win win nu pesuravangalukku....

[tamizharasan]

Steve waugh and Ponting are greater Australian batsmen compared to Sir Don Bradman simply because they have won more number of Tests.

This may be true for people who thinks win matters more than any other things ...
Vinod,
That's what Feddy is trying to point out - win win nu pesuravangalukku....

Bala
I agree tendulkar as a most talented batsman in cricket but match winning knockwise I am not really sure. Dravid's 200+ against australia in australia, 200+ against pakistan in pakistan. Two fifties against west indies in west indies. All are absolute match winning knocks and many more. The only problem for dravid is he was not born in mumbai.

[VinodKumar's]

Yes but not for people with commonsense.


Steve waugh and Ponting are greater Australian batsmen compared to Sir Don Bradman simply because they have won more number of Tests.

This may be true for people who thinks win matters more than any other things ...

If TA refers to the number of matches the player won as a captain then he is wrong ... otherwise we cannot rule out his statement ...

there is a difference between stylish technical player and best player :D

anyway naan intha dissucussion la irunthu escape aagikuraen ... not in the position to defend my statements if you guys come up with stats .... :yessir:

[VinodKumar's]

The only problem for dravid is he was not born in mumbai.

TA cricinfo stats query execute panna ready ah irrunga ...

[tamizharasan]

http://www.cricketupdates.org/12-greatest-match-winning-batsmen-in-the-international-cricket.html

Interestingly Dravid is the only person from India in this list.
:clap: :clap: :clap:

[tamizharasan]

The only problem for dravid is he was not born in mumbai.

TA cricinfo stats query execute panna ready ah irrunga ...

Statistics really does not matter. If someboday plays for more than 20 years the numbers are in one way or another will prove something. Please ask the leading cricketers including Gavaskar and Imran Khan about match winning ability and they will talk about it.

[tamizharasan]

I think Kapil knows about cricket little bit.

http://www.cricinfo.com/engvind/content/story/303542.html

[tamizharasan]

Imran khan also knows little bit about cricket.

http://www.rediff.com/cricket/2003/oct/06ten.htm

[tamizharasan]

Lara on Dravid about match winning ability.

http://www.stararticle.com/article_111701_Laras-praise-for-Dravid.html

[VinodKumar's]

na vaangana vaangana vaangana ...

TFS TA :notworthy:

[Bala (Karthik)]

:rotfl3:

[tamizharasan]

Dravid Scored nearly 23% of the total runs put up by India (with a batting average of 102.84) in the 21 Test matches won under Ganguly's captaincy. This is the highest percentage contribution by any batsman in Test cricket history in matches won under a single captain where the captain has won more than 20 Tests.


Even Don Bradman does not have this.

[Nerd]

Gavaskar??? :rotfl3: avara vittA tendulkar munnAdi <censored>

Even a Tendulkar single gives him an orgasm.

[VinodKumar's]

:rotfl3:

:roll:

[tamizharasan]

Gavaskar??? :rotfl3: avara vittA tendulkar munnAdi <censored>

Even a Tendulkar single gives him an orgasm.

Nerd
even he said once that tendulkar is not match winner. I will try to find out the link.

To all

Making fun of Rahul dravid is insulting the most selfless player India has ever produced. He put country before anything and never complained to play at any position and never complained for any request from the team. Ask any Indian captain regarding this.

[VinodKumar's]

Gavaskar??? :rotfl3: avara vittA tendulkar munnAdi <censored>

Even a Tendulkar single gives him an orgasm.

Nerd
even he said once that tendulkar is not match winner. I will try to find out the link.

To all

Making fun of Rahul dravid is insulting the most selfless player India has ever produced. He put country before anything and never complained to play at any position and never complained for any request from the team. Ask any Indian captain regarding this.

appdilam poi captains nambi ketingana Rahul Dravid na yaarunu ketppanga :lol: :lol:

he has been using like a contractor in the team for last 2 3 years... he shud stop playing cricket for BCCI ... kadaisi series la MOS kooda kudukala though he deserved it ... :evil:

[Nerd]

Who made fun of Dravid here??

oru 4 hours free time irunthA stats ellAm eduthu unge theory-a disprove pannuvEn. ippolAm suththamaa free time-E illai. Sachin thread-la match-winning, match-saving performances pathi sila pala stats irukku (part II I think) padichu therinjikkunga.

[tamizharasan]

Who made fun of Dravid here??

oru 4 hours free time irunthA stats ellAm eduthu unge theory-a disprove pannuvEn. ippolAm suththamaa free time-E illai. Sachin thread-la match-winning, match-saving performances pathi sila pala stats irukku (part II I think) padichu therinjikkunga.

I did not tell this one for you. In general I felt he never got the accolades he deserved. Statistics can be manipulated in a way one want it to be. I don't believe in this. I was a hard-core fan of Sachin during 1996 time frame. But after that IMO he played very less no. of match winning performances when compared with Dravid in test matches. Forget about statistics give me one link where Dravid had even a remote complaint about not playing match winning knocks and then I will stop complaining about Sachin.

[ajithfederer]

TA,

Did you even read what I posted?.

Imran khan conveniently evaded the question on 03 world cup thrashing he got single handed from Tendulkar. Case of selective amnesia just like you perhaps. :lol2:. What an hypocritic statement of opinions in the same interview. Thanks for giving me this link :notworthy:

Kapil dev, One overrated achiever of all times in Indian cricket. The bloke who eventually overstayed his tenure in Indian cricket. Surely he doesn't even have an idea of a team sport as he was lucky to be in a good team for once when it all mattered. ( read world cup 1983 of which still sachin has eluded).

And regarding sachin's achievements I don't want to talk about him in this thread anymore.

[tamizharasan]

AF
This one is also a statistics what do you think about it.
http://www.cricketupdates.org/is-sachin-tendulkar-a-real-match-winner.html

[tamizharasan]

This article is from maharastrian himself

http://www.thehindu.com/2009/08/07/stories/2009080755012200.htm

[tamizharasan]

TA,


Kapil dev, One overrated achiever of all times in Indian cricket..

I totally agree on that and at the same time you have to agree that Tendulkar statistics is the most misleading statistics of all times in Indian cricket. I do agree that tendulkar batting is close to perfection but winning percentage?

[MADDY]

even i find it hard to digest that Dravid is lesser to anyone in terms of contribution for BCCI test victories. The impression that i always have is Dravid solidifies our batting line up nd is the pivot on which batting revolves in foreign tours esp SA and Aus. I find mine a very fair impression. Complimentation is also a form of contribution - when u look at the larger picture of test win, series win, the difference betn a 140 and 200 doesent make a difference - its all contribution at the end of the day.

but i vehemently oppose thoughts on Rahul > Sachin in test victories. When sachin hits and BCCI wins, its his duty, when he doesent and BCCI loses, he is not a match-winner - very unfair. Sachin is the essential ingredient of all BCCI victories since 1990 perhaps - be it test or ODI. TA, the link that u gave have been answered 100 times by sachin fans. pls check sachin orkut comm or our sachin thread.

and Kapil paji is someone who has encouraged a generation of players and cricket watchers - he can never be over rated IMHO.

[ajithfederer]

Thambi neenga oorukku pudhusu pola.

We have already discussed this crap of an article months back. You have made my point even simple. Thanks for that. There is absolutely no doubt on the numbers of Inzamam and Ponting. Clearly their centuries have won more matches. Reason is pretty straightforward. Inzamam and Ponting had the best of the bowlers (Waqar, wasim, shoab, saqlain, Mcgrath, warne to name a few in their respective sides) during their tenures and they also had other contributing batsmen. Makes the job pretty simple right.

What pundits like you and the article writer such as here have completely ignored is the fact is the contribution of other team members. Ofcourse Morons can't think and write right, Yeah we agree :)

AF
This one is also a statistics what do you think about it.
http://www.cricketupdates.org/is-sachin-tendulkar-a-real-match-winner.html

[ajithfederer]

http://www.mayyam.com/hub/viewtopic.php?p=1867882#1867882

Pulavar thamizharasu-vin parvaikku. Read from the last post of this page and the next page. The farce you quoted here has already been shred to pieces by members before in this very forum.

[19thmay]

I totally agree on that and at the same time you have to agree that Tendulkar statistics is the most misleading statistics of all times in Indian cricket. I do agree that tendulkar batting is close to perfection but winning percentage?

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[tamizharasan]

even i find it hard to digest that Dravid is lesser to anyone in terms of contribution for BCCI test victories. The impression that i always have is Dravid solidifies our batting line up nd is the pivot on which batting revolves in foreign tours esp SA and Aus. I find mine a very fair impression. Complimentation is also a form of contribution - when u look at the larger picture of test win, series win, the difference betn a 140 and 200 doesent make a difference - its all contribution at the end of the day.

but i vehemently oppose thoughts on Rahul > Sachin in test victories. When sachin hits and BCCI wins, its his duty, when he doesent and BCCI loses, he is not a match-winner - very unfair. Sachin is the essential ingredient of all BCCI victories since 1990 perhaps - be it test or ODI. TA, the link that u gave have been answered 100 times by sachin fans. pls check sachin orkut comm or our sachin thread.

and Kapil paji is someone who has encouraged a generation of players and cricket watchers - he can never be over rated IMHO.

I posted the link just to prove that statistics can mislead. It can be twisted according to one's wish. For example AF twisted the statistics of Not outs in his own way when he compared Ricky Ponting and Sachin Tendulkar. No one got the credit like Sachin for what he has done. He has got the demi god status in the country. I just wanted to say that Rahul Dravid deserved much much more than what he has got. Hindu newspapaer many times wrote that Dravid is more valuable player than Sachin when it comes to match winning on tests. Even Gavaskar, who is ardent supporter of tendulkar, questioned tendulkar match winning abilities once. There won't be smoke without fire, I hope you understand that.

[VinodKumar's]

naan inga nadakura sandaiku yethukum varala

ckt is a team game na yean sachin vilayadulaena team thothurumnu innum sila sachin fans sollikitu irrukanga :(

[tamizharasan]

I totally agree on that and at the same time you have to agree that Tendulkar statistics is the most misleading statistics of all times in Indian cricket. I do agree that tendulkar batting is close to perfection but winning percentage?

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Good. then why you most of the sachin fans treat him like God. Give the respect what he deserves. Nothing less and nothing more.

[ajithfederer]

Care to say when and where?.


I posted the link just to prove that statistics can mislead. It can be twisted according to one's wish. For example AF twisted the statistics of Not outs in his own way when he compared Ricky Ponting and Sachin Tendulkar.

[ajithfederer]

None of your eff'in business!!!




I totally agree on that and at the same time you have to agree that Tendulkar statistics is the most misleading statistics of all times in Indian cricket. I do agree that tendulkar batting is close to perfection but winning percentage?

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Good. then why you most of the sachin fans treat him like God. Give the respect what he deserves. Nothing less and nothing more.

[19thmay]

TA & Vinod,

Sachin duck adichu, India thotha mattum yen special avara mattum match winner illadha maadhri pesureenga? :huh: Adhunaala thaan sonnen Cricket is a team game-nu.

TA saar...avara God-nu solradhukum statistics matrum winning %-kum samandham irrukun-nu neenga nenaikireengala? :rotfl:

[tamizharasan]

None of your eff'in business!!!




I totally agree on that and at the same time you have to agree that Tendulkar statistics is the most misleading statistics of all times in Indian cricket. I do agree that tendulkar batting is close to perfection but winning percentage?

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Good. then why you most of the sachin fans treat him like God. Give the respect what he deserves. Nothing less and nothing more.

This is what I like about people taking things personal and using the f word liberally. Everyone can use this word and also I have right to say Sachin is not match winner like Imran Khan and Kapil Dev. Because it is our business. :lol: :lol: :lol:

[VinodKumar's]

TA & Vinod,

Sachin duck adichu, India thotha mattum yen special avara mattum match winner illadha maadhri pesureenga? :huh: Adhunaala thaan sonnen Cricket is a team game-nu.

TA saar...avara God-nu solradhukum statistics matrum winning %-kum samandham irrukun-nu neenga nenaikireengala? :rotfl:

pothuva oorla sachin vilayadama india thothuruchuna sachin vilayadathunala thothuruchungaranga

avar vilayadi jeyichuruchuna sachin nala thaan jeyichuthunu solluranga

so eppdi paathalum sachin ah suthiyae thaan india team vanthukitu irruku

ippo illaenalum at least before 2000 ....

first point ah sachin fan illatha oruthar sollurappa team game nu solluringa aana second point sollumbothum atha sonna nalla irrukumngarathu thaan ennoda kutrachaatu ...

[ajithfederer]

Kaamedy :lol2:

Appuram ??. :fatigue:

[tamizharasan]

TA saar...avara God-nu solradhukum statistics matrum winning %-kum samandham irrukun-nu neenga nenaikireengala? :rotfl:

Absolutely no relevance. That is what I call as blind following.

[VinodKumar's]

Kaamedy :lol2:

Appuram ??. :fatigue:

appuram onnum illa feddy enakkum thookam varuthu :fatigue: :lol:

[ajithfederer]

Thamzih sir, Comedy pannadheenga. We have time and again proved how every of your accusation is false. Yet again you skip everything and say "sachin is not a match winner". Pudhusa edhavadhu try pannunga pulees. :P.

[ajithfederer]

That was not at you Vinod.


Kaamedy :lol2:

Appuram ??. :fatigue:

appuram onnum illa feddy enakkum thookam varuthu :fatigue: :lol:

[VinodKumar's]

That was not at you Vinod.


Kaamedy :lol2:

Appuram ??. :fatigue:

appuram onnum illa feddy enakkum thookam varuthu :fatigue: :lol:

aiyo sorry :ashamed: ... aana nejamalumae enakku thookam varuthu ...
inga 12 mani :D

[MADDY]

No one got the credit like Sachin for what he has done. He has got the demi god status in the country. I just wanted to say that Rahul Dravid deserved much much more than what he has got.

becos no one is like Sachin. is ur problem with rahul's lack of fame or sachin's fame? management's theory on recognition always asks "waht u want" and not "what others got"........


Hindu newspapaer many times wrote that Dravid is more valuable player than Sachin when it comes to match winning on tests. Even Gavaskar, who is ardent supporter of tendulkar, questioned tendulkar match winning abilities once. There won't be smoke without fire, I hope you understand that.

how can dravid be more valuable than sachin yaa - i find it very hard to accept......at the same time, i cant agree to blanket dismissal of dravid's achievements as the most important person in test matches for BCCI. both have different roles to play and they traversed on different planes which have ultimately helped the team's cause. why cant we agree that both sachin and rahul are equally important components, more so in test cricket -

[tamizharasan]

becos no one is like Sachin. is ur problem with rahul's lack of fame or sachin's fame? management's theory on recognition always asks "waht u want" and not "what others got"........



I don't have problem with Sachin's fame. What can you expect from a country where centuries are more celebrated than team's victory.

[MADDY]

becos no one is like Sachin. is ur problem with rahul's lack of fame or sachin's fame? management's theory on recognition always asks "waht u want" and not "what others got"........



I don't have problem with Sachin's fame. What can you expect from a country where centuries are more celebrated than team's victory.

TA, u r sidetracking this arguement into a anti-sachin mode, which is unneccessary and a disservice to rahul......ippa ellarum vandhu dravid oru oetta batsman-nnu solla poraanga to refute all these - maybe thats what u r looking for :wave:

btw, rahul is also a maharashtrian and had a great following in late 90's until sehwag, yuvraj, dhoni came along

[VinodKumar's]

becos no one is like Sachin. is ur problem with rahul's lack of fame or sachin's fame? management's theory on recognition always asks "waht u want" and not "what others got"........



I don't have problem with Sachin's fame. What can you expect from a country where centuries are more celebrated than team's victory.

TA, u r sidetracking this arguement into a anti-sachin mode, which is unneccessary and a disservice to rahul......ippa ellarum vandhu dravid oru oetta batsman-nnu solla poraanga to refute all these - maybe thats what u r looking for :wave:

btw, rahul is also a maharashtrian and had a great following in late 90's until sehwag, yuvraj, dhoni came along

thirumbavuma :lol:

[MADDY]

.ippa ellarum vandhu dravid oru oetta batsman-nnu solla poraangathirumbavuma :lol:

:lol: illa dont worry, i was just exaggerating out of fear-of-backlash. we have a knowledgable crowd here(in HUB) and they understand Rahul's greatness :D .......

[tamizharasan]

TA, u r sidetracking this arguement into a anti-sachin mode, which is unneccessary and a disservice to rahul......ippa ellarum vandhu dravid oru oetta batsman-nnu solla poraanga to refute all these - maybe thats what u r looking for :wave:



I am fine with that. What else people can do for a country's most selfless player ever.

[tamizharasan]

.ippa ellarum vandhu dravid oru oetta batsman-nnu solla poraangathirumbavuma :lol:

:lol: illa dont worry, i was just exaggerating out of fear-of-backlash. we have a knowledgable crowd here(in HUB) and they understand Rahul's greatness :D .......

Maddy I too agree that I have never seen anyone who is more talented than Tendulkar. I think with this massive talent he could have won more matches for us than what he has done so far. If people don't agree, then no arguements further.

[19thmay]

first point ah sachin fan illatha oruthar sollurappa team game nu solluringa aana second point sollumbothum atha sonna nalla irrukumngarathu thaan ennoda kutrachaatu ...

Kandippa saar... Ippo yaaru illa-nu sonnadhu? Ardent Sachin fans ellam konjam magnify panni appadi ippadi thaan solvaanga but mathavangalukku credit-ey kodukuradhilla-nu solradhellam naansense [I am talking here in the hub].

[19thmay]

TA saar...avara God-nu solradhukum statistics matrum winning %-kum samandham irrukun-nu neenga nenaikireengala? :rotfl:

Absolutely no relevance. That is what I call as blind following.

No relevance? enna no relevance?

We don't care about damn records, statistics, winning percentage blah blah because he already has enough. To be his fan is something more than that, a blend of emotional, talent and gorgeousness! :notworthy:

Though an unnecessary analogy.. do you change your fan club if Super Star gives more flop?

[Kalyasi]

.ippa ellarum vandhu dravid oru oetta batsman-nnu solla poraangathirumbavuma :lol:

:lol: illa dont worry, i was just exaggerating out of fear-of-backlash. we have a knowledgable crowd here(in HUB) and they understand Rahul's greatness :D .......

Maddy I too agree that I have never seen anyone who is more talented than Tendulkar. I think with this massive talent he could have won more matches for us than what he has done so far. If people don't agree, then no arguements further.

Excuse me... There are other factors involved in this...

When Dravid was @ his peak the Indian Bowling Unit was able to take 20 wickets in a test match... antha credit ayum neenga Dravid ku kuduthuduveengala.....Moreover Dravid could not have been involved in more than 80 century patnerships if the other batsmen had just given it away

In 1998 when India toured Aus Sachin mattum thaniya ninnu adipaare, athu ellam maranthu pocha? Badhilukku Prasad um Srinath um vanthu pottu thanthu adiya vaangittu povaanga....

I defly value those centuries becoz of the fact that it avoided more embarassing defeats ... Those matches were onle a few where his centuries were in vain... But overall Sachin has contibuted more towards Indian victories...

This Indian Unit is far more balanced one so you are producing results.... Period!!

[Bala (Karthik)]

-meendum edited-

[Plum]

TA,

Did you even read what I posted?.

Imran khan conveniently evaded the question on 03 world cup thrashing he got single handed from Tendulkar. Case of selective amnesia just like you perhaps. :lol2:. What an hypocritic statement of opinions in the same interview. Thanks for giving me this link :notworthy:

Kapil dev, One overrated achiever of all times in Indian cricket. The bloke who eventually overstayed his tenure in Indian cricket. Surely he doesn't even have an idea of a team sport as he was lucky to be in a good team for once when it all mattered. ( read world cup 1983 of which still sachin has eluded).

And regarding sachin's achievements I don't want to talk about him in this thread anymore.

This is unwarranted. Kapil Dev is a colossus in Indian Cricket. Statistics cannot capture the impact he had on Cricket in India. hmm...people like MSD, who were born in the right era, and enjopyed the path built by predecessors are great, Kapil Dev, who fought unbelievable odds all through his career, and put India on the path to what we are today, is overrated?
ennamO pOngappA....

(MSD won T20 WC, that too the first time it happened, it could have been a lottery, avaru greatest captain. Kapil Dev, who wrested it from West Indies when they were ruling the world, is overrated? Eh? With a team that read Binny, Madanlal, Sandhu, Amarnath et al. Kamal in Vettaiyadu comes to mind...)

[Plum]

and Kapil paji is someone who has encouraged a generation of players and cricket watchers - he can never be over rated IMHO.


Yes! Maddy, there we go, we are on the same side.
*Cut to: Plum on Maddy's shoulders singing "iraNdu kaigaL nAngAnAl..."* :lol:

[Plum]

why cant we agree that both sachin and rahul are equally important components, more so in test cricket -

yeah, same blood
*haiyo haiyo, next cut: Plum and Maddy on Lambretta and side car "yeh dosuti gam nagi chod EhE"* :lol:

[Kalyasi]

TA,

Did you even read what I posted?.

Imran khan conveniently evaded the question on 03 world cup thrashing he got single handed from Tendulkar. Case of selective amnesia just like you perhaps. :lol2:. What an hypocritic statement of opinions in the same interview. Thanks for giving me this link :notworthy:

Kapil dev, One overrated achiever of all times in Indian cricket. The bloke who eventually overstayed his tenure in Indian cricket. Surely he doesn't even have an idea of a team sport as he was lucky to be in a good team for once when it all mattered. ( read world cup 1983 of which still sachin has eluded).

And regarding sachin's achievements I don't want to talk about him in this thread anymore.

This is unwarranted. Kapil Dev is a colossus in Indian Cricket. Statistics cannot capture the impact he had on Cricket in India. hmm...people like MSD, who were born in the right era, and enjopyed the path built by predecessors are great, Kapil Dev, who fought unbelievable odds all through his career, and put India on the path to what we are today, is overrated?
ennamO pOngappA....

(MSD won T20 WC, that too the first time it happened, it could have been a lottery, avaru greatest captain. Kapil Dev, who wrested it from West Indies when they were ruling the world, is overrated? Eh? With a team that read Binny, Madanlal, Sandhu, Amarnath et al. Kamal in Vettaiyadu comes to mind...)

Yethukunga MSD ya ellam izhukareenga///

MSD ya antha league vechu compare pannarathe kutham.... antha kuthatha neengale seyyareenga....ennamo ponga//

MSD Vaazhga!! Valarga avarathu Pugazh!!

[ajithfederer]

If that is unwarranted, Mr.overrated's comments are also unwarranted. I've never said a word about a MSD there where do you drag all that from??.


TA,

Did you even read what I posted?.

Imran khan conveniently evaded the question on 03 world cup thrashing he got single handed from Tendulkar. Case of selective amnesia just like you perhaps. :lol2:. What an hypocritic statement of opinions in the same interview. Thanks for giving me this link :notworthy:

Kapil dev, One overrated achiever of all times in Indian cricket. The bloke who eventually overstayed his tenure in Indian cricket. Surely he doesn't even have an idea of a team sport as he was lucky to be in a good team for once when it all mattered. ( read world cup 1983 of which still sachin has eluded).

And regarding sachin's achievements I don't want to talk about him in this thread anymore.

This is unwarranted. Kapil Dev is a colossus in Indian Cricket. Statistics cannot capture the impact he had on Cricket in India. hmm...people like MSD, who were born in the right era, and enjopyed the path built by predecessors are great, Kapil Dev, who fought unbelievable odds all through his career, and put India on the path to what we are today, is overrated?
ennamO pOngappA....

(MSD won T20 WC, that too the first time it happened, it could have been a lottery, avaru greatest captain. Kapil Dev, who wrested it from West Indies when they were ruling the world, is overrated? Eh? With a team that read Binny, Madanlal, Sandhu, Amarnath et al. Kamal in Vettaiyadu comes to mind...)

[Kalyasi]

and Kapil paji is someone who has encouraged a generation of players and cricket watchers - he can never be over rated IMHO.


Yes! Maddy, there we go, we are on the same side.
*Cut to: Plum on Maddy's shoulders singing "iraNdu kaigaL nAngAnAl..."* :lol:

I agree... Kapil had a lot of Mental toughness.... IMHO he was a very good captain... a true sportsman and a good Bowler...

If I remember right Sunil Gavaskar did not want him in the Indian team touring England in 1979 because he could not speak proper English....(Paper roast Liver ku Romba nallathu kathai thaan.. yaaro solli therinjukiten...thappa iruntha mannikavum)

[Plum]

AF, I am not reacting to you per se. There are enough 'young's who have started to rubbish Kapil paaji to elevate Dhoni. My Blood pressure boiling up because of that - andha frustration veLiya varadhukku ninga oru karuviyA payan pattInga avLO dhAn :-)

[ajithfederer]

Fair enuf plum. Even I have no interest in posting here anymore.

[MADDY]

(MSD won T20 WC, that too the first time it happened, it could have been a lottery, avaru greatest captain. Kapil Dev, who wrested it from West Indies when they were ruling the world, is overrated? Eh? With a team that read Binny, Madanlal, Sandhu, Amarnath et al. Kamal in Vettaiyadu comes to mind...)MSD ya antha league vechu compare pannarathe kutham.... antha kuthatha neengale seyyareenga....ennamo ponga//

//we have seen, though we have infrastructure, technology, world class support staff - we still fail to perform upto expectations....in that way, MSD is very important in carrying the good work of Ganguly with a precision, even Ganguly would be proud of :) ..........Kapil is a totally different animal altogether 8-) //

[Thirumaran]

Yethukunga MSD ya ellam izhukareenga///


ithenna aniyaayamaa irukku.. Rahul dravid thread um thaan konjam oadatumae :huh:

[tamizharasan]

TA saar...avara God-nu solradhukum statistics matrum winning %-kum samandham irrukun-nu neenga nenaikireengala? :rotfl:

Absolutely no relevance. That is what I call as blind following.

No relevance? enna no relevance?

We don't care about damn records, statistics, winning percentage blah blah because he already has enough. To be his fan is something more than that, a blend of emotional, talent and gorgeousness! :notworthy:

Though an unnecessary analogy.. do you change your fan club if Super Star gives more flop?

Please understand the fact i was hard core fan of tendulkar till 1999. Superstar comparison is irrelvant because for me super star is more important than movie he acts. But in case of tendulkar, for me India's victory is more than tendulkar's achievement. Till today tendulkar is the cricket personality, I was fan of. I just admire Rahul dravid, Shewag and other players now.

[tamizharasan]

.ippa ellarum vandhu dravid oru oetta batsman-nnu solla poraangathirumbavuma :lol:

:lol: illa dont worry, i was just exaggerating out of fear-of-backlash. we have a knowledgable crowd here(in HUB) and they understand Rahul's greatness :D .......

Maddy I too agree that I have never seen anyone who is more talented than Tendulkar. I think with this massive talent he could have won more matches for us than what he has done so far. If people don't agree, then no arguements further.

Excuse me... There are other factors involved in this...

When Dravid was @ his peak the Indian Bowling Unit was able to take 20 wickets in a test match... antha credit ayum neenga Dravid ku kuduthuduveengala.....Moreover Dravid could not have been involved in more than 80 century patnerships if the other batsmen had just given it away

In 1998 when India toured Aus Sachin mattum thaniya ninnu adipaare, athu ellam maranthu pocha? Badhilukku Prasad um Srinath um vanthu pottu thanthu adiya vaangittu povaanga....

I defly value those centuries becoz of the fact that it avoided more embarassing defeats ... Those matches were onle a few where his centuries were in vain... But overall Sachin has contibuted more towards Indian victories...

This Indian Unit is far more balanced one so you are producing results.... Period!!
Kalyasi
I agree that tendulkar did not get help from bowlers some times and he won the matches for us some times. What all I noticed was, he had been given with several opportunities in his 20+ year career to deliver in the crunch times. But he disappointed me several times in those. Here bowlers did not have anything to do. I absolutely don't have anything against Tendulkar, so we will leave the discussion there.

[tamizharasan]

TA,

Did you even read what I posted?.

Imran khan conveniently evaded the question on 03 world cup thrashing he got single handed from Tendulkar. Case of selective amnesia just like you perhaps. :lol2:. What an hypocritic statement of opinions in the same interview. Thanks for giving me this link :notworthy:

Kapil dev, One overrated achiever of all times in Indian cricket. The bloke who eventually overstayed his tenure in Indian cricket. Surely he doesn't even have an idea of a team sport as he was lucky to be in a good team for once when it all mattered. ( read world cup 1983 of which still sachin has eluded).

And regarding sachin's achievements I don't want to talk about him in this thread anymore.

This is unwarranted. Kapil Dev is a colossus in Indian Cricket. Statistics cannot capture the impact he had on Cricket in India. hmm...people like MSD, who were born in the right era, and enjopyed the path built by predecessors are great, Kapil Dev, who fought unbelievable odds all through his career, and put India on the path to what we are today, is overrated?
ennamO pOngappA....

(MSD won T20 WC, that too the first time it happened, it could have been a lottery, avaru greatest captain. Kapil Dev, who wrested it from West Indies when they were ruling the world, is overrated? Eh? With a team that read Binny, Madanlal, Sandhu, Amarnath et al. Kamal in Vettaiyadu comes to mind...)

Plum Thanks for supporting Kapil Dev. Your words are 100% true. Just for debate I accepted AF words.

[tamizharasan]

Tendulkar was never overrated. Only his statistics are. Tendulkar is the most complete batsman I have ever seen in cricket. There can't be two ways about it.

[Plum]

TA, I dont agree with your views on Sachin :evil: :-)

inge yaaru enna sonnAlum, enakku valikkudhu - Kapil, Sachin, Rahul ellAmE namma payaluva dhAn :-)

[tamizharasan]

TA, I dont agree with your views on Sachin :evil: :-)

inge yaaru enna sonnAlum, enakku valikkudhu - Kapil, Sachin, Rahul ellAmE namma payaluva dhAn :-)

Ok Plum. I think I should stop complaining about Tendulkar. May be I took the liberty on him because I liked him so much in 90's.

[Thirumaran]

TA, I dont agree with your views on Sachin :evil: :-)

inge yaaru enna sonnAlum, enakku valikkudhu - Kapil, Sachin, Rahul ellAmE namma payaluva dhAn :-)

ooraan voottu pulla dhoni ya ooti valarunga.. unga pullaiva thaanaa valarum :lol2:

[Thirumaran]

TA, I dont agree with your views on Sachin :evil: :-)

inge yaaru enna sonnAlum, enakku valikkudhu - Kapil, Sachin, Rahul ellAmE namma payaluva dhAn :-)

Ok Plum. I think I should stop complaining about Tendulkar. May be I took the liberty on him because I liked him so much in 90's.

complain panrathukku ippadi ellaam oru reason aa :roll:

dhoni ya plum vidaama complain panrathukku intha maathiri strong reasons yethaachchum irukkumo :o

[Plum]

TA, I dont agree with your views on Sachin :evil: :-)

inge yaaru enna sonnAlum, enakku valikkudhu - Kapil, Sachin, Rahul ellAmE namma payaluva dhAn :-)

ooraan voottu pulla dhoni ya ooti valarunga.. unga pullaiva thaanaa valarum :lol2:
kood chatterjee :-)

[Plum]

TA, I dont agree with your views on Sachin :evil: :-)

inge yaaru enna sonnAlum, enakku valikkudhu - Kapil, Sachin, Rahul ellAmE namma payaluva dhAn :-)

Ok Plum. I think I should stop complaining about Tendulkar. May be I took the liberty on him because I liked him so much in 90's.

complain panrathukku ippadi ellaam oru reason aa :roll:

dhoni ya plum vidaama complain panrathukku intha maathiri strong reasons yethaachchum irukkumo :o

:lol:

[Sourav]

Dravid (209 not out, 500m, 340b, 26x4, 1x6). against UP... :clap:

[VinodKumar's]

:ty: :ty: :ty:

for great news Sourav :clap: :clap:

[ajithfederer]

http://www.cricinfo.com/ci/content/player/28114.html

Happy Birthday Rahul Dravid. May you play greater knocks in life.

[VinodKumar's]

AF naaliku thaan B'day athukulla munthikitingala :D

[littlemaster1982]

Indian time-kku already Jan 11 aayiduchu :huh:

Happy Birthday to one of the finest batsman ever 8-)

[VinodKumar's]

Indian time-kku already Jan 11 aayiduchu :huh:

Happy Birthday to one of the finest batsman ever 8-)

oh appdi varinga :D

I did have plan last week to decorate the thread :D

but already got enuf to do :cry:

anyway naaliku naan pic link kudukuraen potu vidunga :happydance: :happydance:

[VinodKumar's]

En nenjil kudiyirukum Thalaiva

pirantha naal vazhthukkal

:bluejump: :redjump: :redjump: :bluejump: :redjump: :redjump:


nee needooli vazha ellam valla irivanai prathikiraen

:notworthy: :notworthy: :notworthy: :notworthy:

[VinodKumar's]

Please enable this picture

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/__5vnMiF3qLg/RaaiA_RJqtI/AAAAAAAAAE4/kPH_H7tsWoc/s400/rahul_dravid_birthday_2006.jpg

[Sourav]

Happy b'day 2 the wall... :D

[Kalyasi]

Happy B'day to the wall

[Dinesh84]

Happy Birthday Jammy! :D

[VinodKumar's]

MODS or pic poturukaenae enable panna

bday mudinjurum pola :banghead: :banghead: :banghead:

[littlemaster1982]

Send a PM to PR

[VinodKumar's]

Send a PM to PR

maranthutaen master :lol:

[VinodKumar's]

[tscii:3d4a483a05]RD Interview on Sports Illustrated Jan '10

* Not a complete one .. a guy in orkut just typed the highlighted items from the magazine as he couldnt scan it ...

In the pantheon of Indian cricket Rahul Sharad Dravid stands tall alongside Sachin Tendulkar and Sunil Gavaskar. Yet despite more than 21,000 international runs,he has never been one for braggadocio. His flamboyant score of 177 in Ahmedabad last November became the launchpad for India to win the series against Sri Lanka. It also raised many a surprised eyebrow, especially of those who had though that the sun had set on Dravid’s pitch. He followed it up with 144 in Kanpur. From a player living on the edge after being dropped from the ODI team,one would have expected a triumphant swagger. But he’s a man of few words. And when he does talk,he’s as watchful and circumspect as he is with bat in hand. Today’s fast-track media detests sportsperson who aren’t quote machines. When a subject is neither florid nor effusive, reporters have to take the trouble to dig deep. Dravid doesn’t come gift-wrapped with sound bytes. With such individuals, even the smallest gesture tends to be deconstructed for clues concealing arcane meanings. Often, motives are ascribed where none exists

When asked about his exuberance on field following theton at Ahmedabad he replied

”people end up analyzing every move we make.when I made that hundred at

Mohali in 2008 and didn’t jump up and down,everyone said maybe he’s sending a

message ,but I wasn’t trying to”

In a team of dazzling stroke players,Dravid has always been the conservative

cornerstone. It’s a role into which he has grown. ”it’s a great learning experience

because you’re watching others play some smashing shots,the kind that you would

love to play but know you probably can’t at that stage”. Such a statement is in

keeping with the nature of a batting legend who has always played down his

successes. “I try to ensure that my game complements the other guy’s,”he says.”I

don’t see myself needing to match them. I don’t try to do that at all.”

.

During the course of their careers, Tendulkar,Ganguly and even Sehwag

have gotten far more acclaim than Dravid. Not one of them has had to constantly

reinvent himself in the way Dravid has done, time after time. Go from being a dour

accumulator to someone capable of scoring 153 in an ODI?Check. Keep wickets in

ODIs for the sake of team balance? Check. Open in a test match? Check.

Even after being dropped after top-scoring against Pakistan in CT Dravid isn’t

miserable. If you’re expecting an angst ridden rant, look elsewhere. “It was nice to be

back and I have no regrets even though it lasted only for a short time,”he says. “It’s

always good to represent India whatever be the format. As long as you’re playing the

game and enjoying it you want to play as much as you can. In whatever time I’ve left,

it’s important for me to savour and enjoy each innings and match that I play.”

Before starting this interview, he had warned that there would be no settling of

scores. “I don’t want to deal with that ‘is he in or is he out, or does he still want to

play?’ business or stir up old debates,” he said. “I don’t want to set myself up to be

disappointed.”

On his lean phase he said ” I did recognize the fact that I was going through

a pretty lean patch,”he acknowledges. “I wasn’t playing anywhere close to the

standards that I’d set for myself. When that sort of patch happens to you, at my age,

it’s natural that there will be question asked and a push to look ahead.” Dravid can

still see the contradiction: he wasn’t getting runs but knew that he was playing well.

“it sounds silly,”he admits. But everything from the way I was hitting the ball at nets,

to the short knocks that I’d,I felt I was playing well.”

He knew that the Mohali match was his last chance to rage against dying light. “I was

just one match away from being dropped,” he says. “and I would have had no

complaints. If that had happened at that stage, I would probably have moved on

because I couldn’t see myself coming back.” When the Rubicon crossing came,he

made it over to the other side.

During the days when Dravid was searching for light encouragement came from the

unlikeliest of sources. “During that series,a lot of team mates were telling me I

was looking good in the nets,” he says. “it was frustrating for me, no doubt about

that. At the end of the series, Ricky Ponting came up to me and said ‘I don’t know

what you’re thinking or the scene around you,but from what I’ve seen you batting, I

can’t see anything different. Everytime you come to bat,you look like making a big

score. But you just keep getting out.’ Coming from someone like Ricky,it sort of

reaffirmed what I myself was thinking. You always think that friends will say the right

things to you, but hearing it from someone in the opposition gave me a bit of

confidence.”


On his loss of confidence during the lean phase---> “in the past, too, I am

sure i must have gone through patches in test cricket where I hadn’t done very well.

But I always had the ODI game to pull me back. Here, because I was only playing

tests, the gaps between series were long and I didn’t have the cushion of the ODI

game, where its often easier to score runs and get one’s confidence back.”


On his resignation from captaincy he said “ I quit at that stage because I

wasn’t enjoying the captaincy,” he says, and you can catch a glimpse of residual hurt

in his eyes. “ I had done it for a period of time. There was a lot of happening and I

didn’t get the kind of scores that I would have liked to. So I just felt like I wouldgo

back to simply being a player and try to score runs. But it didn’t happen that way I

don’t think it had anything to do with the loss of form. I tried to move on as best I

could do.”

After scoring a century in Kanpur, Gambhir had spoken of how he had grown up

wanting to make centuries and double tons rather than just fly the ball for a few

overs in a T20 game. It’s a sentiment that Dravid endorses, though he wonders if it’s

shared by the Playstation generation.

.

So, if one was to make off with Dravid’s iPod, what would one find? He laughs.

“At the moment, there’s helluva lot on my iPod because I raid the team’s computer,”

he says. “There’s no particular kind of music that I’d listen to. I like Sting, Bob Dylan,

U2 and also hindi songs.”

When asked about his feelings on retirement he says “I’ll miss the excitement

of playing good cricket, the feeling that you get when you are batting and in good

control of the game. I don’t know if anything else will replicate that feeling of being in

the middle. I’ll miss the competition and being part of the team, an almost surreal

world that cricketers live in, where everything is looked after us, I know that life

outside of it is going to take some adjusting to.”

.

Perhaps it’s the best to end with Waugh, not Auberon or Evelyn, but Steve. After

Dravid had cut MacGill to the fence at Adelaide in 2003 to clinch one of India’s most

famous Test wins,Waugh walked all the way to the gutter to fetch the ball and give it

to the man whose strength in adversity mirrored his own. It was a gesture that

Dravid will never forget. He has enjoyed the chats he has had with Waugh. After all,

at the end of the day, every achiever wants to be recognized by his peers. “you want

to earn their respect,” Dravid smiles. “it’s nice when journalists and critics write good

things about you. Sometimes, a lot of stuff said in the press is not always, exactly

correct. But your opponents know.”

Cover page - http://lh6.ggpht.com/_QKhZTkCY868/S1C06yniq0I/AAAAAAAAAJM/hs6AHIpkAGs/s800/RD%20SI.jpg[/tscii:3d4a483a05]

[VinodKumar's]

Dravid 190* catches :redjump:

200 potta super ah irrukum :cheer:

[podaskie]

Once again run out in the test match :oops: ...why he is not dragging/sliding his bat in running between the wickets :curse:

[Dinesh84]

:clap: :clap: for equalling Sir Don Bradman's number of centuries

:cheer: The Great Wall of India :cheer:

[VinodKumar's]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bi9Iue3ks7U

A fan crying for RD's injury ... :notworthy: :notworthy:

Get welll soon RD ...

[podaskie]

Ravi Shastry on Rahul Dravid


Being Sachin Tendulkar as the most popular and great batsman, Rahul Dravid's importance in Indian team is not being recognized

He would be rated as No.1 if he played in any other country in the world.

Courtesy: Ravi Shastry commentry in 2nd test day-2

[VinodKumar's]

Latest update from the coach is that dravid is a doubtful starter for the SA series.
Hope he recovers and plays in the second test

From Orkut community

:curse:

[podaskie]

Dravid is not included in the upcoming test series against south africa :hammer: :bangcomp:

[Sourav]

Dravid is not included in the upcoming test series against south africa :hammer: :bangcomp: :roll: he is injured...

[tamizharasan]

Rahul Dravid's absence will be a definite blow and it will be felt during south africa series.

[podaskie]

Dravid is not included in the upcoming test series against south africa :hammer: :bangcomp: :roll: he is injured...


yes it injury :(

[littlemaster1982]

The mild maestro (http://doosraredux.wordpress.com/2010/01/25/the-mild-maestro/#more-292)

In the pantheon of Indian cricket, Rahul Sharad Dravid stands tall alongside Sachin Tendulkar and Sunil Gavaskar. Yet, despite more than 21,000 international runs, he has never been one for trumpet solos. A flamboyant 177 in Ahmedabad last November became the launchpad for India to win the series against Sri Lanka. It also raised many a surprised eyebrow, especially amongst those who had thought that the sun had set on Dravid’s pitch. He followed it up with 144 in Kanpur, becoming the second-highest scorer in the series after Virender Sehwag.

From a player living on the edge after being dropped from the ODI team, one would have expected a triumphant swagger. But Dravid is a man of few words. And when he does talk, he is as watchful and circumspect as he is with bat in hand. Today’s fast-track media detests sportsmen that aren’t quote machines. When a subject is neither florid nor effusive, reporters have to take the trouble to dig deep. Dravid doesn’t come giftwrapped with sound bytes. With such individuals, even the smallest gesture tends to be deconstructed for clues. Often, motives are ascribed where none exist.

Was Dravid’s uncharacteristic exuberance on field after his century in Ahmedabad—which reminded one of his exultation after a hundred in the match against Australia at Eden Gardens in 2001—a response to some of his detractors? He laughs and shakes his head. “People end up analysing every move we make,” he says, raising a spoonful of scrambled eggs to his mouth. “When I made that hundred at Mohali in 2008 and didn’t jump up and down, everyone said maybe he’s sending a message. But I wasn’t trying to.”

He’s having breakfast at the coffee shop of the Taj Lands End hotel in Mumbai. In a couple of hours, he’ll be heading to the airport, back home to his wife, Vijeeta, and two young sons. As usual, Dravid doesn’t seem to be in a hurry, a demeanour that has sometimes lulled bowlers into complacency. “In 2001, the team was under a huge amount of pressure,” he reminisces. “We got totally outplayed in the first Test, especially in the first three days in Kolkata. We faced a lot of criticism from fans, the media and within the team setup, too. Everyone was having a go at us. It was expected because we weren’t doing well. To turn it around was such a huge adrenaline boost for me.”

The 376-run partnership between Dravid and V.V.S. Laxman ensured that India won, after following on 274 in arrears. “At Ahmedabad, it was the same. I went in to bat when India was struggling at 30 for four,” Dravid says. “It had nothing to do with what was happening around me.”

What his recent centuries have accomplished was to reveal strokemaking gifts that many thought had been lost forever. They were wonderfully fluent and positive innings, the efforts of a man keen to impose himself on the proceedings rather than just be carried along by the tide. Apart from the 74 he notched up in Mumbai—where he was content to watch Sehwag eviscerate the Lankan bowling—he scored at a clip that few thought him capable of any more.

In a team of dazzling stroke players, Dravid was always been the conservative cornerstone. It’s a role into which he has grown. “It’s a great learning experience because you’re watching others play some amazing shots, the kind that you would love to play but know you probably can’t at that stage,” he says, before stressing that circumstances are everything. “At Ahmedabad, when Dhoni came in to bat, I was nearing my hundred. In Mumbai, when I went in to bat, Sehwag was on 150. There’s a difference. It was towards the end of the day and I was playing for time, trying to set the team up. Viru was really going strong at the other end.”

Such a statement is in keeping with the nature of a batting legend who has always played down his successes. “I try to ensure that my game complements the other guy’s,” he says. “I don’t see myself needing to match them. I don’t try to do that at all.”Dravid knows he has a game that works well for him, one that has been successful over a long period of time.And he tries to stick to it and keep improving on his strengths. Against Sri Lanka he played a lot more shots and his attitude was a lot more positive. “I tried to focus on being more dominant against the spinners,” he says. “I was very disappointed with the way I played in Sri Lanka in 2008 and had a lot of time to reflect on it. Coming into this series, I practised a lot against spin and I knew that I was going to set the tone early on if I got the chance.” He did in Ahmedabad, and how. The first time Rangana Herath came on to bowl, Dravid stepped out and hit him for six. “Learning from last time’s experience and also watching the way Viru played at Galle was a real education for me,” he says.

His approach vindicated his teammates’ faith. “I think he’s a great player and his record speaks for him,” says Gautam Gambhir, the opener whose solidity makes him a natural successor. “As a cricketer, you go through these lean patches. He’s such a great player that it was just a matter of time before he came out of that. A lot of credit goes to him for the way he fought it out.”

During the course of their careers, Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and even Sehwag have gotten far more acclaim than Dravid. Not one of them has had to constantly reinvent himself in the way that Dravid has done, time after time. Go from being a dour accumulator to someone capable of scoring 153 in an ODI? Check. Keep wickets in ODIs for the sake of team balance? Check. Open in a Test match? Check. In a team consisting of exceptional talents, he has been the man for all seasons. Even as recently as last August, with the new generation of players struggling for form, it was Dravid to whom the selectors turned in order to shore up the ODI batting. But even after being the top-scorer against Pakistan in the Champions Trophy, it was he that was unceremoniously dumped so that the young guns could once again boom, this time in less trying home conditions.

Some of his old mates were aghast at the decision. “I don’t know why they didn’t continue with him,” says Anil Kumble. “I don’t think someone who has played that long should have been dropped in that way after having performed in the Champions Trophy.”

But Dravid is not miserable. If you’re expecting an angstridden rant, look elsewhere. “It was nice to be back and I have no regrets even though it lasted only for a short time,” he says. “It’s always good to represent India whatever be the format. As long you’re playing the game and enjoying it you want to play as much as you can. In whatever time I have left, it’s important for me to savour and enjoy each innings and match that I play.”

Before starting this interview, he had warned that there would be no settling of scores. “I don’t want to deal with that ‘Is he in or is he out, or does he still want to play?’ business or stir up old debates,” he said. “I don’t want to set myself up to be disappointed.”

Steve Waugh, a player Dravid admires immensely, was denied his World Cup swansong in 2003. If the same fate befalls Dravid in 2011, it won’t be for want of effort on his part. Whether it’s in the gym or a net session, he keeps ticking the boxes as he’s always done. In the autumn of his career, some rewards are already his. As he reflects on the old days, his normally keen eyes grow distant. “I look back to the time I started,” he says.“When we toured, even if we won only one match, people thought it was a big achievement. But now, the team is always expected to win. That in itself is a big change. People are asking for a series win every time we go out on the field. That’s a compliment.”

Indian cricket’s mild maestro is taking a much-needed break after the win he helped fashion. While his teammates played two Twenty20 games and five ODIs against Sri Lanka, he was spending his time in the gym or on the field at deserted venues helping Karnataka’s bid to win the Ranji Trophy. As he tucks into a masala dosa—the dieticians do give the odd day off—he admits that getting off the treadmill took some getting used to. “That was an adjustment I had to make,” he says. “There were gaps in between Tests and I was used to playing all the time. I was used to that competitive environment.”

The Ranji Trophy games are something he keenly looks forward to. “This year, I’ve focused really hard on my fitness as well,” he says. “I told myself that I’d had a really bad 2008. What was I going to do differently in 2009? One of those things was to get my fitness right. Working with physio Paul Chapman at the National Cricket Academy was great and I’ve been able to maintain a good level of fitness.”

Statistically, 2008 was the worst year of his career. In 15 Tests, Dravid made just 805 runs at an average of 30.96. Had the young pretenders managed to put up the sort of scores that Dravid or Laxman did when they were trying to break into the team, the selectors would surely have drawn a thin red line under his career. Soon after the Tendulkar-and-Sehwag inspired victory in Chennai, a match in which Dravid scored three and four, he had never seemed so dispirited. When assured that his time would come, he had said: “I need to get one , not only for myself, but for everyone who has constantly wanted me to do well.”

“I did recognise the fact that I was going through a pretty lean patch,” he acknowledges. “I wasn’t playing anywhere close to the standards that I had set for myself. When that sort of patch happens to you, at my age, it’s natural that there will be questions asked and a push to look ahead.” Dravid can still see the contradiction: he wasn’t getting runs but knew that he was playing well. “It sounds silly,” he admits. “How can you say you’re playing well when you’re not scoring runs? But everything from the way I was hitting the ball in the nets to the short knocks that I had, I felt I was playing well.”

He knew that the match against England at Mohali was his last chance to rage against dying light. “I was one match away from being dropped,” he says. “And I would have had no complaints. If that had happened at that stage, I would probably have moved on because I couldn’t see myself coming back.” When the Rubicon crossing came, he made it over to the other side. He went on to score 136, shutting the door on England’s chances of squaring the series. “The way Dravid played, he hardly gave us any chance,” said Graeme Swann, England’s offspinner, afterwards. “He was exceptional.”

During the days when Dravid was searching for the light, encouragement came from the unlikeliest of sources. Against Australia, he totalled just 120 runs in four Tests. Had India lost instead of winning 2-0, he might not even have made it as far as Mohali. “During that series, a lot of teammates were telling me I was looking good in the nets,” he says. “It was frustrating for me, no doubt about that. [b]At the end of the series, Ricky Ponting came up to me. Obviously, he sensed that I was under a lot of pressure. He said, ‘I don’t know what you’re thinking or the scene around you, but from what I’ve seen of you batting, I can’t see anything different. Everytime you come out to bat, you look like you’re going to make a big score. But you just keep getting out.’ Coming from someone like Ricky, it sort of reaffirmed what I myself was thinking. You always think that friends will say the right things to you, but hearing it from someone in the opposition gave me a bit of confidence.”

It wasn’t that he was coming in and heading back before the ink on the scoresheet could dry. There were several starts, but the man who built his reputation on monumental innings had been reduced to cameos. “If you look at the 20s or 30s that I got, I looked good, but didn’t end up converting them into big scores,” he says. “That was rare for me, and it was frustrating. I can’t put a finger on it. I’ve looked at it, thought about it, but I couldn’t really say what I’m doing different this season.“I’ve made some technical changes to my game. It was pointed out to me that my bottom hand was getting tighter, maybe because I was tense. So I’ve made a conscious effort this year to make my bottom hand very loose. But again, that’s not something I hadn’t done earlier. When you tell someone about the basics of batting, you say that the left hand dominates. It’s not rocket science. But maybe at some level, I was tightening up without being aware of it. It’s the only small technical thing that I can think of.”

He had struggled similarly in Australia, though his 93 in Perth played a huge part in India’s only win. At the time, Peter Roebuck had written: “Impregnable on his previous visit, Dravid tried hard to recover his effect but located only its shadow. At such times a batsman falls into caricature. He manages to convey his spirit without ever recapturing its essence. But then success cannot be bottled. Always there is a fine line. It is the secret known to all batsmen, one that drives some to drink and others to erect barricades around their wickets.”

Dravid also feels that, maybe, at a subconscious level, he had lost a bit of confidence. He wasn’t getting the scores he used to. “The lack of confidence is accentuated until you get that one big score, and then the belief just comes back,” he says. “It’s a vicious cycle and you have to arrest it somehow. In the past, too, I’m sure I must have gone through patches in Test cricket where I hadn’t done very well. But I always had the ODI game to pull me back. Here, because I was only playing Tests, the gaps between series were long and I didn’t have the cushion of the ODI game, where it’s often easier to score runs and get one’s confidence back.”
When he mentions confidence, it’s impossible not to bring up captaincy. It was never something he hankered for, but in certain quarters Dravid was forever tainted as “the man who replaced Sourav Ganguly.” During the 2004 tour of Pakistan, Ganguly had been injured and Dravid was temporarily in charge. It’s a captain’s lot to take tough calls, and many haven’t forgiven him for declaring Indian’s innings in Multan when Tendulkar was on 194. Ravi Shastri, former player-turned-commentator, had criticised Dravid’s subsequent captaincy for being “unassertive” and for allowing coach Greg Chappell too much leeway in taking decisions. Even after India’s historic series victory in England in 2007, Dravid faced vicious criticism at The Oval over his “defensive” tactics. The hullabaloo died down only when Michael Vaughan walked in, all Yorkshire calm, and said that he would have done exactly the same thing.

It’s also no secret that Dravid played his best cricket under Ganguly, averaging 73.31 over 49 Tests. In the 25 matches that he led, the figure dropped to 44.51. So how much did the behind-the-scenes intrigue and the tumultuously eccentric Chappell era contribute to the decline in Dravid’s confidence and batting form? “I quit at that stage because I wasn’t enjoying the captaincy,” he says, and you can catch a glimpse of residual hurt in his eyes. “I had done it for a period of time. There was a lot happening and I didn’t get the kind of scores that I would have liked to. So I just felt like I would go back to simply being a player and try to score runs. But it didn’t happen that way. I don’t think it had anything to do with the loss of form. I tried to move on as best as I could.”

At times, he sought refuge in the past. After that career-saving innings in Mohali, he admitted that archival footage had been part of his preparation. “When I’m doing well, I don’t watch a lot of videos,” he confides. “But when I was going through a tough phase, I did look at a few videos, just to see if there were any changes in my play. I didn’t find too many. Maybe I don’t need to look at them anymore. At this stage in my career, I don’t need to analyse much. I just need to enjoy it. Live in the moment.”

But the perfectionist streak remains though. Some players talk of being in “the zone,” but Dravid breaks it down in such a way that it seems less mystical. “There are a couple of things that tell me that my game is in sync,” he says. “If I’m playing a fast bowler and I can play an on-drive or the clip, through midwicket, it tells me that my balance is right. I sometimes feel that I over balance. I have a few check points in my batting. One is that I shouldn’t over balance. Another is that I control the game with my left hand. Also, if I can hit a spinner against the spin, it tells me my game is fine. To do that, everything needs to flow properly.”

In keeping with the character of someone who was deeply influenced by Phil Jackson’s book Sacred Hoops, coaches have played a big part in his career. “Keki Tarapore was my coach while growing up,” he says. “He taught me the basics. After that, we’ve had various coaches in the national team. There was John [Wright], then Greg and now Gary [Kirsten]. You discuss your batting with your coaches, teammates and also with former players. Sometimes, I might ask a question of Sunil Gavaskar or Shastri because they watch a lot of cricket, of someone like ParthasarathySharma, to whom I talk to about batting. There is no one person I go to, all the time. After a stage, you also work things out for yourself.”

While some aficionados are convinced that Twenty20 will do to Tests what the Ice Age did for dinosaurs, Dravid says that it has only added new facets to his batting. So much for old men being set in their ways. “In this series, I stepped out and hit bowlers over the top,” he says. “It’s not that I haven’t done that in the past, but because of the Twenty20 game, I’m forced to do that a lot more and practise it, too. There’s a confidence that creeps into your Test game which allows you to then express yourself a little more. You lose a bit of the fear of playing certain shots because you’ve done it with a fair degree of success in another format.”

After scoring a century in Kanpur, Gambhir had spoken of how he had grown up wanting to make centuries and double tons rather than just flay the ball for a few overs in a T20 game. It’s a sentiment that Dravid endorses, though he wonders if it’s shared by the Playstation generation.Dravid comes from a time when cricketers couldn’t specialise, when they basically had to play both Tests and ODIs to make a decent living. “Today you can perform in front of big crowds and make a lot of money playing just Twenty20 cricket,” he admits. “But the personal satisfaction from doing well in a Test match cannot be felt playing a Twenty20 game. The satisfaction of getting the best out of all skills—physical, mental, technical and emotional—would come only in a Test match.”

He is now nearly 37. With 14 years of international cricket behind him, the master batsman has a thick album of memories to fall back on. “The 2001 Kolkata match will be right on top because of the way we were down and out in the series and then seized a great victory,” he remembers, when asked for the brightest images of them all. There are more. The win at Adelaide in 2003. Rawalpindi, where India beat Pakistan and Dravid scored a mammoth 270. Again in 2005, beating Pakistan in Kolkata was special because he scored a hundred in each innings. The pages flip one after the other in his mind: in 2006, winning a series in the West Indies after 35 years, in 2007, winning the series in England. . .

After all these years of wielding the bat and chasing the ball across the turf, he also holds the world record for the highest number of catches in Test cricket (188). These days though, when he heads home, cricket is quickly pushed to the periphery. With two energetic young boys around the house, there isn’t much time to obsess over bottom hands and series averages. “Vijeeta still thinks I could improve my switching off,” he laughs. “She still feels that even when I’m at home, my mind is sometimes still on cricket.”

Men who haven’t played cricket even half as long as Dravid complain about burnout and of the loneliness that comes from the seemingly interminable months away from their families. Players’ associations insist that Tendulkar’s and Waugh’s careers, spanning two decades, are rarities. Dravid, though, doesn’t buy into the doomsday theories. “The levels of fitness have definitely improved,” he says. “People say there is a lot of cricket being played and maybe it’ll be tough for bowlers. But from a batting perspective I still think people can have decently long careers.”It’s off the field that he feels the challenges are, in terms of players spending time away from home; it adds to the pressures of international sport. But he remains confident that each player will deal with it in his own way, though some might find it more difficult than others. “It’s not ideal, but that’s the life of a sportsman. That’s the choice we make,” he says. “It’s one of the minuses, but there are a lot of plusses, too, such as getting to play the game that you love, the kind of job satisfaction that you get. Though it’s only for a certain period in your life, it’s a lifestyle that you choose to lead and you have to be committed to it.”

If you are forced to choose a single defining adjective to describe the man, it would be the word “intense.” Dravid is cricket’s version of Ralph Fiennes, with his craggy weather-beaten face and eyes holding shifting depths that few can fathom. Some say that you may discover a little about a man from the music he listens to and the books he reads. So, if one was to make off with Dravid’s iPod, what would one find? He laughs. “At the moment, there’s a helluva lot onmy iPod because I raid the team’s computers,” he says. “There’s no particular kind of music that I like to listen to. I like Sting, Bob Dylan, U2 and also Hindi songs.”

The day will come when he will walk off a field for the last time, the navyblue India cap casting a final shadow over his face and masking the emotion in those clear brown eyes. What will he take away with him? What will he leave behind? “I’ll miss the excitement of playing good cricket, the feeling that you get when you’re batting and in control of the game,” he says, his voice quiet and reflective. “I don’t know if anything else will replicate that feeling of being in the middle. I’ll miss the competition and being part of the team, an almost surreal world that cricketers live in, where everything’s looked after for us. I know that life outside of it is going to take some adjusting to.”

Perhaps it’s best to end with Waugh, not Auberon or Evelyn, but Steve. After Dravid had cut Stuart MacGill to the fence at Adelaide in 2003 to clinch one of India’s most famous Test wins, Waugh walked all the way to the gutter to fetch the ball and give it to the man whose strength in adversity mirrored his own. It was a gesture that Dravid will never forget. He has enjoyed the chats he has had with Waugh. After all, at the end of the day, every achiever wants to be recognised by his peers. “You want to earn their respect,” Dravid smiles. “It’s nice when journalists and critics write good things about you. Sometimes, a lot of stuff said in the press is not always, exactly correct. But your opponents know.”
After all these years, we should, too.

___________________________________

The article is quite long, but worth reading.

[VinodKumar's]

:ty: :notworthy: :ty:

[tamizharasan]

So Dravid is ruled out for both tests against south africa. IMO he is one of the most unlucky and unrecognized guys in cricket.

[VinodKumar's]

So Dravid is ruled out for both tests against south africa. IMO he is one of the most unlucky and unrecognized guys in cricket.

He is injured that is y he is ruled out ...

still your second point is true ...

[tamizharasan]

So Dravid is ruled out for both tests against south africa. IMO he is one of the most unlucky and unrecognized guys in cricket.

He is injured that is y he is ruled out ...

still your second point is true ...

I said unlucky because he is injured and the second point is in general.

[VinodKumar's]

Dravid difficult to replace: Smith


India will find it difficult to cope with the absence of Rahul Dravid despite having quality replacements at their disposal during the upcoming two-Test series, feels South Africa captain Graeme Smith.

Smith said he was keen to know who would fill in the vital slot of Dravid, who underwent a surgery on his jaw that was broken in Bangladesh during the second Test at Mirpur.

"They still have quality players there, but to lose somebody of the calibre of Rahul Dravid with an incredible career of over 10,000 runs is always very difficult," the left-handed batsman said.

"There is still a lot of quality in the Indian team. No. 3 is obviously a key position in any batting line-up, so it is going to be very interesting to see whom they choose to use there," he said.

"The rest of their guys are pretty set in their batting positions so it will be interesting to see if they put S Badrinath at No. 3 or somebody else there," Smith told reporters.

Proteas coach Mickey Arthur stepped down just a few days before their departure to India but Smith said he and interim coach Corrie van Zyl can dovetail their plans effectively together.

"As far as having a new coach in Corrie is concerned, we have worked together before and we had a good session today."

"The players are all going about their work as normal to make sure we are all prepared as best as we can be come Saturday," Smith said

[podaskie]

So Dravid is ruled out for both tests against south africa. IMO he is one of the most unlucky and unrecognized guys in cricket.


:exactly: