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Friday 24 June 2011

It was physically tough, says Rahul Dravid,


Drained after hitting another one of his typically resolute hundreds, veteran Indian batsman Rahul Dravid said it was tough adjusting to the conditions in the ongoing first Test against the West Indies.
Dravid, for whom the 112-run knock on the third day of the match on Wednesday was his 32nd Test century, confessed he found the effort physically very demanding at the Sabina Park.
"It was tough physically. I came here just three days ago. The jet lag, getting up early morning, having not played a Test for a long time and playing in these hot conditions has been very tiring," remarked Dravid, who batted for over 400 minutes for his 112 runs and hit 10 fours and a six from the 274 balls he faced.

Tendulkar still inspires me: Dravid

He has spent 15 years in International cricket but senior India batsman Rahul Dravid says he continues to be inspired by Sachin Tendulkar, with whom he has starred in 19 Test century stands.
"He's been phenomenal, has had terrific last 2-3 years and possibly done the best batting of his life," said Dravid in his ever-earnest manner after his first practice session in the Caribbean on Friday.


"When I came he had already been around for seven years; he was my captain in West Indies (in 1997) and was a source of great motivation. That motivation has not changed," he added.

India will play three tests against West Indies starting Monday and four against England spread across next two months this summer.

Dravid is the third highest run-scorer of all time, scoring 12,063 Test runs in 150 matches at an average of 52.44. He is also the only batsman to have hit at least one century in all 10 Test playing nations. That's not all, he is also a world-beater with 200 catches.

Yet all this greatness sits lightly on a modest man who still is anxious to compete well for himself and his country.

"I had a seven month time off (from Tests). But I knew about these seven Tests in a row and was ready with my preparations," he said.

"You know you have done enough but there is still a certain pressure; you still feel nervous and there are butterflies (in your stomach). These things never change. It would be nice to get runs early on and keep the form going."

Dravid expects great things from this largely young side which is being led by an extremely capable captain in Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

"He (Dhoni) has led very well and done a great job. He exudes calm and his records, be it in Tests, in IPL or in one-day cricket has been phenomenal. His ability to remain calm under pressure is a priceless ability. (The team is) lucky to have a guy who has this kind of quality," he said.

The 38-year-old cricketer is aware that the transitional phase of Indian cricket is at hands and is hopeful that a few of the younger guys would carry the torch forward.

"Over the next year or two, young batsmen should be coming through—like Ganguly, Laxman and I did. Sooner than later, similar young boys would come through and two or three would have similar long careers for the next 15 years. Then the team is going to be in good health," he said.

Dravid hoped he would play a role in this learning curve, sharing his experiences with the younger kids.

"Young kids love to chat and you are always open. There would be opportunity to share this experience over the next seven Tests. It would be great to pass on this knowledge. "Unfortunately, today it's not the nature of cricket to have a lot of practice games ahead of a series. I remember I had six or seven practice games in England and there was so much to learn from the Tendulkars, Manjrekars and Azharuddins of the side.

"Tests are always so stressful but practice games allow you to relax and interact. I don’t know any solution; its tough on kids," he added.

Dravid was particularly keen to do well in Sabina Park, and generally in the Caribbean, for the great charm the region held in his mind while growing up.

"You remember as a kid listening to radio and hearing about Sabina Park; Gavaskar hitting centuries; those fearsome fast bowlers and you dreamt of playing here," he said. "I have now been involved in four Test matches at this venue and I know when I sit back I will be happy about it."

It was at the Sabina Park where he last came as a captain in 2006 and his two half centuries were instrumental in India winning their first series in Caribbean after 35 years.

Dravid rated those two innings of 81 and 68 in a low-scoring game as one of the better knocks of his entire distinguished career.

"It was a very difficult pitch. In the context of the series, it was one of the better Test match innings I have played. In a low-scoring game, anything could have happened. It was most satisfying and in terms of quality, I rate it one of my better innings," he said.

Dravid believed the pitch here for the first Test is going to be extremely testing too.

"This generally has good bounce. Looking at this wicket, it would be a good challenge. They have a good pace attack. We have the bowling and hopefully the guys will make a difference."

Dravid claimed he didn't feel bad he wasn't part of the team which won the World Cup earlier this year and indeed took delight in the achievement of his mates.

"I knew I wasn't playing, I haven't been playing one-day cricket for the last two and a half years. So I didn't feel bad in that sense. I was happy for the team, for Indian cricket as it took 28 long years," he said.

"You feel good for the guys, that you have played with some of these guys and that men like me, Ganguly, Kumble were involved in the system in the past, have had some role to play in this onward journey," he added.

Dravid was evasive in his views on the controversial Umpires Decision Review System (UDRS) which is not being supported by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

"My views really don't matter. In the past I have said that UDRS is going to be used at some stage. Obviously Indian board wants it be consistent, really this is between the ICC and BCCI to sort it out."

Dravid's master class give india lead against windies .

 A typically resolute century by Rahul Dravid and the new-ball pair of Ishant Sharma and Praveen Kumar put India in a strong position for victory in the first Test against West Indies on Wednesday.
Dravid made 112 - his 32nd test century - before he was the last man dismissed, as the Indians were bowled out for 252 in their second innings on the third day at Sabina Park, setting the hosts 326 for victory.

The fear of a painful defeat had been looming over Sabina Park right from the time West Indies failed to put enough runs on the board in their first innings. 
However, until they lost their last wicket on Thursday afternoon, chasing the target of 326 set by India in the final innings, nobody really wanted to state the obvious. India won their second straight Test at this venue, on both occasions facilitated by the dependable Rahul Dravid.

Praveen Kumar and Ishant Sharma with three wickets each did most of the damage while spinners Amit Mishra and Harbhajan had their share of fun with the tail which wagged for a while but could only delay the inevitable.


Dravid was India's only hope in the middle of this all and his contribution was more than enough to serve the team's purpose.   

Dravid back in top 20.

Indian classic  batsman Rahul Dravid has returned to the ICC list of top 20 Test batsmen, while master blaster Sachin Tendulkar lost his top spot to South Africa's Jacques Kallis.
Dravid has climbed nine positions to 20th after his splendid show in the first Test against the West Indies in Jamaica,


Dravid, who won Man of the Match award, scored a magnificent 112 in the second innings on a difficult Sabina Park track. This seven-hour classy innings set the platform for India's 63 runs victory which handed the tourists a 1-0 lead in the three-Test series.

As a result, Dravid earned 45 ratings points which has lifted him to 20th position. This is his best position since November 2010 when he slipped out of the top 20 following the Nagpur Test against New Zealand.


Rahul Dravid is a true champion: Javagal Srinath

Mumbai: Former India fast bowler Javagal Srinath reckons Rahul Dravid can go a year without training and still score runs against top-class bowling in Test cricket.


Prior to his century at Kingston, Dravid last played international cricket in January on the tour of South Africa. "It was a fantastic knock; a perfect scenario for him to come good. I am glad he is still one of the go-to guys in adversary, a true champion," Srinath said.

Of late, Srinath, the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) secretary, has been spending lot of time with Dravid, who is on the KSCA managing committee.

Did Dravid reveal future plans to his close friends? "He hasn't spoken anything specific (about his future). He's the sort of guy who can go a year without training and matches, and still get a hundred. Honestly, I don't have a clue about what he has planned. We just have to wait and watch. It augers well for Indian cricket that he is fit and scoring runs," said Srinath.

Meanwhile, former India wicketkeeper and chairman of selectors, Syed Kirmani wants young Test hopefuls such as Murali Vijay, Abhinav Mukund, Virat Kohli and Suresh Raina to utilise the time with Dravid. "He is a motivation for youngsters, who need a role model. When it comes to art of batsmanship and ability to tackle fast bowling, there are fewer people to learn from. Whether it's Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar or VVS Laxman, the youngsters need to utilise this time and gain valuable education," said Kirmani.

He stressed that only an experienced batsman could have rescued India from a tight spot at Jamaica. "This is where experience makes a difference. Show me an example when a youngster has come to the team's rescue when the chips are down. There might be exceptional cases. In the last few years, every time India have been in trouble, one of the seniors have delivered. That proves that India are still dependent on experienced players," Kirmani added.

Can Dravid go on for a few years? "If he remains motivated, he can go on for a lot more time because he's as fit as ever," said Srinath.

Kirmani refused to look at the age factor. "At this age (38), he is still batting at No 3, the most difficult position. Along with Sachin, he is the greatest example for fitness and performance," said Kirmani.

Saturday 9 April 2011

waiting for the blasting performance from the wall

As we are entering the fourth phase of ipl we are  looking forward to the wall's performnace,now hez not part of RCB and his fans are curious about how he is going to perform in this ipl season.We all know how talented the wall is and expecting nothing less than a blasting performance from the champ.At this moment i wish RR and Rahul Dravid all the very best for this ipl season.i hope rahul and the team would perform superbly.
                                            
                                              HALLA BOL.....

Tuesday 29 March 2011

Childhood of the wall







Family of the genius





MCC complete victory over Nottinghamshire


Champion County match, Abu Dhabi
MCC 218 & 357 beat Nottinghamshire 108 & 293 by 174 runs 
Match scorecard

Rahul Dravid
Rahul Dravid completed his 63rd first-class century
MCC wrapped up a 174-run win over Nottinghamshire inside three days in the Champion County match in Abu Dhabi.
Rahul Dravid (106) completed a century as MCC were bowled out for 357 in their second innings, setting the county champions 468 to win.
Any hopes of an unlikely victory were soon dashed as Notts slipped to 21-4.
Resistance came in the shape of Paul Franks (73), Steven Mullaney (62), Ali Brown (55) and Chris Read (51), but Notts eventually succumbed for 293.
Read's side had been up against it from the moment they were bowled out 108 to concede a first-innings deficit of 110.
MCC began the day on 300-5 with Dravid unbeaten on 81.
When Mohammad Nabi (29) was removed by Luke Fletcher (4-63), Notts moved quickly to mop up the tail, Dravid the last man out after completing his 63rd first-class hundred.
Facing a mammoth chase, Notts were soon in trouble as Toby Roland-Jones (3-39) and Hamid Hassan (3-82) each struck twice.
Brown and Read shared 111 for the fifth wicket, while Mullaney and Franks added 130 for the seventh, but when Mullaney fell to the left-arm spin of Gary Keedy, Notts lost their last four wickets for 31 runs.

Sunday 6 March 2011

Voice of great Wall

  • “It is natural that if you play too much against one country people tend to lost interest.”
    Rahul Dravid
    • “Every series is a challenge. We have prepared ourselves the best we can. We want to enjoy our cricket.”
    Rahul Dravid
    • “At the end of the day I think he believes that a captain must get what he wants. In fact, in a lot of ways we do a lot of things in my way.”
    Rahul Dravid
    • “Last couple of months have been really good. There have been good performance from all the players.”
    Rahul Dravid
    • “Pakistan have got some good players all round. I think if we focus on just one or two players in the team, we will be making a mistake and I think if they focus on one or two players in our team, they will be making a mistake because we have shown over the last month that a lot of our guys are performing.”
    Rahul Dravid
    • “I am looking forward to the series, it should be a good one. We had a very good tour of Pakistan last time and I enjoyed the country and enjoyed going there. Hope the same this time.”
    Rahul Dravid
    • “There are some cracks on it but otherwise it looks a good track.”
    Rahul Dravid
    • “It was not that a single performance lifted us. It was a hard fight and we played good cricket. But we can't slip up as there is still a lot left in the series.”
    Rahul Dravid
    • “If you don't ask for the best [of them], you don't get it.”
    Rahul Dravid
    • “He has proved his worth over the years and is always an asset to the side.”
    Rahul Dravid









    Saturday 5 March 2011

    About The Genius

    Rahul Sharad Dravid (born 11 January 1973) is one of the most experienced cricketers in the indian national team, of which he has been a regular member since 1996. He was appointed as the captain of the Indian cricket team in October 2005 and resigned from the post in September 2007 Dravid was honored as one of the five wisden cricketers of year in 2000.Dravid was also awarded the ICC player of the year and the Test Player of the Year at the inaugural awards ceremony held in 2004. On 27th December 2010, he took his 200th Test catch to get rid of Dale Steyn.
    Known as "the Wall" due to his ability to bat for long durations, and "Jammy" due to his endorsement of Kissan, a jam company, and also because his father worked for Kissan, Dravid holds multiple world cricketing records. He is the second Indian batsman, after Sachin Tendulkar, and the third international player to have scored more than 12,000 runs in Test cricket.On 14 February 2007, he became the sixth player in history and the third Indian (after Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly), to score 10,000 runs in ODI cricket. He is the first and the only batsman to score a century in all ten Test playing nations.With more than 199 catches, Dravid currently holds the world record for the highest number of catches in Test cricket. Dravid has also been involved in more than 80 century partnerships with 18 different partners and has been involved in 19 century partnerships with Sachin Tendulkar — a world record.

    Personal life

    Dravid was born in Indore, Madhya Pradesh into a Maharashtrian Deshastha family living in Karnataka. His paternal ancestors were Iyers from Thanjavur,Tamil Nadu.He grew up in Bangalore, Karnataka. He has a younger brother, Vijay. Both the brothers grew up in a simple middle class atmosphere. Dravid's father worked for Kissan, a company known for producing jams and preserves and thus he earned the nickname Jammy from his teammates at St. Joseph's Boys' High School, Bangalore. His mother, Pushpa, was a professor of Architecture at Bangalore University. Rahul Dravid has a degree in commerce from St Joseph's College of Commerce Bangalore, Karnataka. On 4 May 2003, he married Dr. Vijeta Pendharkar, a surgeon from Nagpur and on 11 October 2005, their son, Samit, was born. On 27 April 2009, Vijeta gave birth to their second son, Anvay.

    International career


    Dravid in action during a Test match
    Dravid had a disappointing start to his career making his debut in one-dayers against Sri Lankan cricket team in the Singer Cup in Singapore immediately after World Cup in March 1996, replacing Vinod Kambli. Subsequently, he was dropped from the team, until he was picked again for the tour of England.
    He then made his debut in the Second Test against England along with Sourav Ganguly,when Sanjay Manjrekar got injured after the first Test match on that tour.
    Rahul scored 95 and held his position on Manjrekar's return for the Third Test, scoring 84. After moderate performance in home series against Australia and South Africa, Dravid broke through on the 1996-97 tour of South Africa. He batted at No. 3 in the third Test in Johannesburg, scoring his maiden century with 148 and 81, the top score in each innings to claim his first man of the match award. He made his first half-century against Pakistan in the Sahara Cup in 1996, scoring 90 in his 10th ODI.
    In the 18 months ending in mid-1998, he played in an away series against the West Indies, home and away series against Sri Lanka and a home series against Australia, he scored consistently, with 964 runs at an average of 56.7. He scored eleven half-centuries but was unable to convert them to triple figures. He scored his second century in late 1998 against Zimbabwe in a one-off Test match, top-scoring in both innings with 148 and 44, but was unable to prevent an Indian defeat He became the third Indian batsman after Vijay Hazare and Sunil Gavaskar to score centuries in both innings of a match during the 1999 New Year's Test match against New Zealand with 190 and 103* to force a draw. He had a moderate season in the subcontinent in early 1999, scoring 269 runs at an average of 38.42 with one century before scoring 239 at an average of 39.8 including a century against New Zealand in late 1999 This was followed by a poor away series against Australia and another poor home series against South Africa, accumulating just 187 runs at an average of 18.7. He then scored 200*, his first double century, against Zimbabwe in Delhi, which along with 70* in the second innings helped India to victory. It was the first time he had passed 50 in 12 months and he followed this with a 162 in the following Test, giving him 432 runs in the two match series at an average of 432.


    Dravid gestures while fielding during a Test match against Sri Lanka in Galle in 2008.
    In the second test of a three match test series against Australia at Kolkata in 2001, Dravid joined hands with VVS Laxman to produce one of the greatest comeback victories in the history of the game. Following on, the pair put on 376 runs for the fifth wicket in the second innings of the match. Dravid scored 180 while Laxman made 281. Though Dravid ended up second-best, it remains one of his greatest performances till date. Later that year in Port Elizabeth against South Africa, he made a crucial match-saving 87 runs in the second innings to deny South Africa the win.
    2002 was the year, when Dravid started to emerge out of Tendulkar's shadow and established himself as India's premier Test batsman. In the month of April, at Georgetown, West Indies in first test match of the series, he scored an unbeaten 144 in the first innings after being hit by a Mervyn Dillon delivery. Later that year, he raked up four consecutive centuries against England(3) and West Indies(1). In August 2002, against England at Headingley Stadium, Leeds in the third test match of the series, he scored a 148 in the first innings on a seamer-friendly to set up a famous Indian win. He won the man of the match award for this performance. Dravid's astonishing aggregate of 602 runs in the four match test series against England also fetched him the man of the series award.
    In 2003-2004 season, Dravid scored three double centuries, one each against New Zealand, Australia and Pakistan. Against Australia at Adelaide in second match of the four match series, the batting pair of Dravid and VVS Laxman proved to be Australia's nemesis again. In the first innings, India were looking down the barrel at 4 wickets down for 85 runs in reply to Australia's massive 556 when the duo joined hands. By the time their partnership was broken, the pair had put on 303 runs. Laxman was dismissed for 148 while Dravid went on make 233. At that time, this was the highest individual score by an Indian batsman overseas. By the time Dravid was done, India was only 33 short of Australia's first innings score. Dravid followed this with an unbeaten 72 under immense pressure in the second innings to set up a famous victory. Dravid scored 619 runs in that four-match series against Australia at an average of 103.16 and won the man of the series award. During the later part of the season, Dravid, in Ganguly's absence, led India to its first test victory over Pakistan in Pakistan in the first test match at Multan. In the third and the final match of the series At Rawalpindi, Dravid stroked a masterly 270 to take India to a historic test series win over Pakistan. In 2010 scored 191 run in inning to reach 31st test century.
    On 16 August 2009 Dravid was called back to the Indian ODI team following his good show at that years IPL and the struggle of the younger players' problems against the short ball.

    Dravid in World Cups

    Dravid was top scorer in the the 7th World Cup(1999), scoring 461 runs. He is the only Indian to score two back to back centuries at the World Cup. He scored 110 vs Kenya and followed it with a masterly 145 against Sri Lanka in Taunton, in a match where he kept wickets. He was vice captain during 2003 World cup where India reached the final, serving his team in the dual capacity of a batsman and wicket keeper to accommodate an additional batsman, a move that paid huge dividends for India. Dravid was the captain during the 2007 cricket world cup in West Indies, where Indian cricket team had a dismal campaign.

     Style

    With a strong technique, he has been the backbone for the Indian cricket team. Beginning with the reputation of being a defensive batsman who should be confined to Test cricket, he was dropped from ODIs as he was slow in making runs. However, in a period of his career he began consistently scoring runs in ODIs as well, earning him the award of ICC player of the year. His nickname of 'The Wall' in Reebok advertisements has now become a tribute to his consistency. Dravid has scored 31 centuries in Test cricket at an average of 53.31, including 5 double centuries. In one-dayers too he has an impressive average of 39.49, although at a strike rate of 71.22. He is one of the few Indians who average more at away Test matches than at home, averaging about 5 more runs a match abroad than on Indian pitches.As of 23 September, 2010, Dravid's average in overseas Tests stood at 55.53 as against his home Test average of 50.76, and his average for away ODI stands at 37.93 as against home ODI average of 43.11. In matches that India has won, Dravid averages 66.34 in Tests and 50.69 in ODIs.
    Dravid's sole Test wicket was that of Ridley Jacobs in the fourth Test against the West Indies during the 2001-2002 series. While he has no pretensions to being a bowler, Dravid often kept wicket for India in ODIs. He has since delegated the wicket-keeping gloves, first to Parthiv Patel and more recently to Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Dravid is now purely a batsman, one who has averaged 63.51 in matches played since 1 January 2000.
    Dravid was involved in two of the largest partnerships in ODIs: a 318-run partnership with Sourav Ganguly, the first pair to combine for a 300-run partnership, and then a 331-run partnership with Sachin Tendulkar, which is the present world record. He also holds the record for the greatest number of innings since debut before being dismissed for a duck. His highest scores in ODIs and Tests are 153 and 270 respectively. Uniquely, each of his five double centuries in Tests was a higher score than his previous double century (200*, 217, 222, 233, 270).
    Also, Dravid is the current world record holder for the highest percentage(%) contribution of runs scored in matches won under a single captain, where the captain has won more than 20 Tests. In the 21 Test matches India won under Sourav Ganguly's leadership, Dravid played his part in every single one of those wins, scoring at a record average of 102.84 and piling up an astonishing 2571 runs, with nine hundreds - three of them double-centuries - and ten fifties in 32 innings. He contributed nearly 23% of the total runs scored by India those 21 matches, which is almost one run out of every four runs the team scored.


    An innings-by-innings breakdown of Dravid's Test match batting career, showing runs scored (red bars) and the average of the last ten innings (blue line).
    He was named one of the Wisden cricketers of the year 2000. Though primarily a defensive batsman,Dravid has scored 50 not out in 22 balls(Strike Rate-227.27)vs NewZealand in Hydrabad on 15 Nov,2003,second fastest 50 among Indians.Only Ajit Agarkar 67 of 21 balls is faster than Dravid.
    In 2004, Dravid was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India. On 7 September 2004, he was awarded the inaugural Player of the year award and the Test player of the year by the International Cricket Council, ICC (associated image below). Dravid's batting average of 95.46 in the past year has made him the only Indian to be in the Test team of the year. On 18 March 2006, Dravid played his 100th Test against England in Mumbai.
    In 2005, a biography of Rahul Dravid written by Devendra Prabhudesai was published, 'The Nice Guy Who Finished First'.
    In the 2005 ICC Awards he was the only Indian to be named to the World one-day XI.
    In 2006, it was announced that he would remain captain of the Indian team up to the 2007 World Cup in the West Indies.
    After the England Series however, he stepped down as captain of India due to personal reasons. Mahendra Singh Dhoni took over as ODI captain. Anil Kumble replaced him in test matches.
    In 2007, he was dropped from the Indian ODI Squad following poor series against Australia. Dravid went back to play for Karnataka in the Ranji Trophy, scoring 218 against Mumbai.
    In 2008, he made 93 in the first innings of the Perth test, the highest score of the match, to help India win and make the series 1-2. However, he was ignored by selectors for the subsequent one-day tri-series.
    After a barren run in Test matches in 2008, Dravid came under increasing media pressure to retire or be dropped. In the Second Test against England in Mohali, he scored 136, putting on a triple-century stand with Gautam Gambhir.
    After reaching 10,000 test runs milestone, he was quoted saying, "It's a proud moment for sure. For me, growing up, I dreamt of playing for India. When I look back, I probably exceeded my expectations with what I have done over the last 10 to 12 years. I never had an ambition to do it because I never believed - it is just a reflection of my longevity in the game."


    Personal records

     Tests

    • Dravid holds the world record for being the first (and only) non-wicketkeeper to take 200 catches in Test cricket. As of 27-12-2010, he is way ahead of Mark Waugh (181 catches) and Ricky Ponting (177 catches)
    • Dravid is the 2nd Indian (3rd in World) to score more than 12,000 test runs.
    • Has been involved in the most century partnerships in Test history - 85 (23 nov 2009).
    • 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.
    • 2nd longest streak of consecutive Tests since debut (93 + 1 in ICC XI) missed 95th test at Ahmedabad due to fever, behind Adam Gilchrist (96).
    • Only player to score a century against every Test playing nation away from home.
    • Involved in highest partnership made away from home for any wicket for India with vice captain Virender Sehwag of 410 runs vs Pakistan at Lahore in 2006 (also, the highest partnership between a captain and the vice captain). Only Pankaj Roy and Vinoo Mankad have scored more runs in a partnership for India, 413 vs New Zealand in Chennai (6-11 Jan 1956).
    • Dravid is one among the only three batsmen to hit Test centuries in four consecutive innings. The other two are Jack Fingleton and Alan Melville. Dravid achieved this by hitting scores of 115, 148, 217 and 100* in three successive matches against England and one against the West Indies. Only Everton Weekes, with centuries in five consecutive innings, has achieved a longer sequence of consecutive Test hundreds.
    • With scores of 50 or more in 7 consecutive Tests Dravid is behind only to Tendulkar (8) and Gambhir (11) among Indian batsmen. Gambhir and Viv Richards hold the world record with 11.
    • He is currently 2nd among batsmen who have scored most away runs in Tests (6430 as of April 2009). Only Sachin Tendulkar (7165) has scored more away Test runs.
    • He has played 150 innings of 94 tests at number 3. He has scored more than 8000 runs at this position. Both feats are world records.
    • 2nd Indian batsman to score twin hundreds in a Test twice, after Sunil Gavaskar. Gavaskar and Ponting are the only batsmen to score twin hundreds in a Test thrice.
    • One of only three Indians to score 5 double hundreds.(each bigger than the previous 200* vs Zimbabwe, 217 vs England, 222 vs New Zealand, 233 vs Australia, 270 vs Pakistan). In fact, along with Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar, he is one of only three Indians to score 190+ on seven occasions.
    • Partnering with Tendulkar, has scored more runs than any other pair, excluding opening pairs. They are the 3rd best in terms of total number of partnership runs scored by a pair in test cricket.
    • Dravid has faced highest number of deliveries in test cricket, more than Allan Border's previous record of 27002 deliveries.
    • 2nd highest number of fifties in test cricket after Australia's Allan Border (63) and jointly shared with compatriot Sachin Tendulkar (59)
    • Rahul Dravid is the third batsman in the world after compatriot Sachin Tendulkar and Australia's Ricky Ponting to reach the 12000-run milestone in test cricket.

     One Dayers

    • Dravid is the 3rd Indian (6th in World) to score more than 10,000 ODI runs.
    Partnership Records
    • The only batsman to have been involved in two ODI partnerships exceeding 300 runs.
    • First batsman to be involved in a 300 run partnership in a Cricket World Cup along with Sourav Ganguly in the 1999 World Cup match against Sri Lanka at Taunton.
    • Involved in all three highest 4th wicket partnerships against South Africa, two with Yuvraj Singh.
    • Involved in the highest partnership in the history of ODI cricket with a 331 run partnership along with Sachin Tendulkar vs New Zealand at Hyderabad in 1999-2000.
    • Involved in highest 3rd wicket partnership in ODI history with Sachin Tendulkar - 237 runs against Kenya in 1999.
    World Cup Records
    • He was the leading run scorer in the 1999 World Cup with 461 runs.
    • Has the 2nd highest score (145) by a wicketkeeper in a World Cup behind AC Gilchrist(149).
    • He was only the second wicketkeeper-batsman after Zimbabwean Dave Houghton to score an ODI hundred in the World Cup.
    • He was the second batsman after Mark Waugh to score back-to-back hundreds in the World Cup
    Captaincy Records
    • He is tied with Sachin Tendulkar in fourth place for having captained India in the most victorious matches
    Other Records
    • Has the record of not being dismissed on duck for 120 consecutive ODI matches
    • 3rd Highest number of fifties, after India's Sachin Tendulkar (93) and Pakistan's Inzamam-ul-Haq (83) at 82.

     Captaincy

     Achievements

    • Rahul Dravid is only one of two Indians to be the top scorer in a World Cup (the other is Sachin Tendulkar). He amassed 461 runs in the 1999 World Cup, the first World Cup he played.
    • Rahul Dravid led India to a historic Test series win, against the West Indies in their home soil in 2006. Since 1971, India had never won a Test series in the West Indies. This was also their first prominent series win outside the Indian subcontinent (barring the win against Zimbabwe in 2005) since 1986.
    • Under Dravid's captaincy the Indian team tied the previous record of most consecutive One-Day International wins for an Indian team thus equalling the record run that the Indian team had achieved under Sourav Ganguly in the 2003 World Cup in South Africa (8). This was later beaten by Mahendra Singh Dhoni who led Indian team to 9 consecutive victories in 2008-2009.
    • During his captaincy the Indian team broke the record for most consecutive won matches in One-Day Internationals while batting second (previously held by the West Indies). For this 17 match run, Dravid was the captain for 15 matches and Sourav Ganguly was the captain for the other two. This streak was broken on 20 May 2006, when India lost to the West Indies by one run, at Sabina Park, Jamaica.
    • Rahul Dravid was the first captain to lead India to a Test match victory against South Africa on South African soil.
    • He became only the third captain from India to win a Test series in England. The other two captains being Kapil Dev (1986) and Ajit Wadekar (1971).
    • He has hit 10,000 runs in both tests and one day internationals, making him only the third batsmen after Tendulkar and Lara to achieve this feat. Only Ricky Ponting has since equalled this feat.
    • He holds the record of number of catches in Test cricket by a non-wicket keeper.

     Criticism

    • One of Dravid's most debated decisions was taken in March 2004, when he was standing in as captain for an injured Sourav Ganguly. The Indian first innings was declared at a point when Sachin Tendulkar was at 194 with 16 overs remaining on Day 2.
    • Rahul Dravid has had a mixed record when leading India in Tests. India lost the Karachi Test in 2006, giving Pakistan the series 1-0. In March 2006, India lost the Mumbai Test, giving England its first Test victory in India since 1985, enabling Flintoff's men to draw the series 1-1. While the loss in Karachi could be put down to several Indian batsmen playing badly, the defeat in Mumbai was arguably the result of Dravid's decision to bowl first on a flat dry pitch which later deteriorated and ended with an Indian collapse in the run chase. Coincidentally, it was Dravid's 100th test match in which the Indians were all out for 100 runs in the second innings.
    • He was criticised by Vijay Mallya for not picking the team with right balance after the Bangalore Royal Challengers finished seventh out of the eight teams that played in the 2008 Indian Premier League.
    • After India failed to qualify for the Finals of the DLF Cup, Indian skipper Rahul Dravid was criticised by former all-rounder Ravi Shastri who said that he was not assertive enough and let Greg Chappell make too many decisions. When asked for a response, Dravid said that Shastri, while a 'fair critic', was 'not privy' to the internal decision-making process of the team.

      Teams

     International

    • India (current)
    • ACC Asian XI
    • ICC World XI

     Indian first-class

    • Karnataka
    • South Zone

     Indian Premier League

    • Royal Challengers Bangalore
    • Rajasthan Royals

     English county

    • Kent
    • Scotland

     Timeline

    • 1973 - Born 11 January 1973, in Indore
    • 1984 - Attended a summer coaching camp at KSCA's Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore, where his talents were spotted by former cricketer turned coach Keki Tarapore (There was another Keki Tarapore [Mumbai, deceased] with whom people confuse this gentleman who also passed on.)
    • Scores his first century in an unofficial match for his school team St. Joseph's against St. Anthony's.
    • Scores a double hundred for the Karnataka schools team which he smashed against Kerala.
    • Selected for the under-15 Karnataka team.
    • Stops keeping wickets on advice from Gundappa Vishwanath, Roger Binny, Brijesh Patel and coach Keki Tarapore.
    • 1985 - Gets recognised in Bangalore as a prodigy after becoming the first ever to score a century in the Cottonian Shield inter school tournament (Juniors) for St. Josephs High School against Baldwin Boys' High School, in the final.
    • 1991 - Ranji debut against Maharashtra.
    • 1996 - Double century in Ranji finals, vs. Tamil Nadu.
    • 1996 - Test debut at Lords, England after Sanjay Manjrekar was injured and Navjot Singh Sidhu flew back home after a fracas with captain Azharuddin. Makes 95.
    • 1997 - Maiden Test hundred (148), vs. South Africa, third Test, Johannesburg.
    • 1997 - First one day hundred (107), vs. Pakistan, Independence Cup, Chennai.
    • 1998 - Dropped from One Day squad for the ODI tournament in Bangladesh.
    • 1999 - Hundred in both innings (190,103) against New Zealand in Hamilton.
    • 1999 - Makes 461 runs, including three 50s and two 100s in World Cup.
    • 1999 - Signs up with Kent for the 2000 English county season.
    • 2001 - Scores 180, while V. V. S. Laxman makes 281, in a fifth-wicket stand of 376 as India defeat Australia at Eden Gardens, ending 16 Test-winning streak by Australia.
    • 2004 - Career best 270 against Pakistan, at Rawalpindi.
    • 2005 - Succeeds Sourav Ganguly as Test and ODI captain.
    • 2005 - The Nice Guy Who Finished First by Devendra Prabhudesai, released by coach Greg Chappell.
    • 2006 - Scores first century as captain, at Lahore, vs. Pakistan.
    • 2006 - Contributed in a remarkable 410 runs partnership with Sehwag at Multan.
    • 2006 - Leads India to snatch their first ever test victory on South African Soil.
    • 2007 - Leads India in the 2007 Cricket World Cup, held in West Indies.
    • 2007 - After India's tour of England, resigns from Indian captaincy.
    • 2007 - Dropped from the Indian ODI Squad after poor series against Australia.
    • 2008 - Reached the landmark of 10000 Test runs, in the first Test of the series against South Africa in Chennai on 29 March
    • 2009 - Reached the catching record for a fielder in test cricket with 182 catches, in the third test against New Zealand in Wellington on 6 April.
    • 2010 - Reached the landmark of taking 200 catches by a non-wicketkeeper in tests, against South Africa at Durban on 28th December

     Career highlights

     Tests

    Test Debut: vs England, Lord's, 1996
    • Dravid's best Test batting score of 270 was made against Pakistan, Rawalpindi, 2003-2004
    • His best Test bowling figures of 1 for 18 came against West Indies, St. John's, 2001-2002
    • He is only the third Indian to score over 10,000 Test runs, following Sunil Gavaskar and Sachin Tendulkar.
    • He is the fastest batsman in the history of Test cricket to make 9,000 runs. The former Indian captain brought up the landmark in his 176th innings playing against West Indies in 2006 and broke the earlier record of Brian Lara
    • He has the most catches for a fielder in Test cricket with 200 catches, beating Mark Waugh's tally of 181 catches when he caught New Zealand opener Tim McIntosh in New Zealand's second innings of the third test at the Basin Reserve in Wellington.
    Break-up of catches against each country in Tests vs Australia: 47 in 29 Tests vs Bangladesh: 13 in 7 Tests vs England: 26 in 17 Tests vs New Zealand: 17 in 15 Tests vs Pakistan: 19 in 15 Tests vs South Africa: 21 in 20 Tests vs Sri Lanka: 16 in 20 Tests vs West Indies: 20 in 17 Tests vs Zimbabwe: 21 in 9 Tests
    Milestone Catches Catch No. 1: Nasser Hussain off Javagal Srinath in first Test. Catch No. 50: Ricky Ponting off Harbhajan Singh in 43rd Test. Catch No. 100: Shane Warne off Harbhajan Singh in 79th Test. Catch No. 150: Andrew Strauss off Anil Kumble in 110th Test. Catch No. 200: Dale Steyn off Harbhajan Singh in 149th Test.

     One-Day Internationals

    ODI Debut: vs Sri Lanka, Singapore, 1995-1996
    • Dravid's best ODI batting score of 153 was made against New Zealand, Hyderabad, 1999-2000
    • His best ODI bowling figures of 2 for 43 came against South Africa, Kochi, 1999-2000
    • 6th player and 3rd Indian to score 10,000 runs. He broke the barrier by scoring 66 against Sri Lanka and levelling the series 1-1.
    • Only player to be involved in 2 partnerships of 300+.
    • In one-day internationals the highest is 318, by left-hander Sourav Ganguly (183) and the right-handed Rahul Dravid (145) for India v Sri Lanka in Taunton during the 1999 World Cup.
    • The other higher stand in ODIs - 331 - involved Dravid and right-hander, Sachin Tendulkar came in Hyderabad later in 1999 against New Zealand.

     Achievements

     Awards

    • 1998: Arjuna award
    • 1999: Ceat Cricketer of the 1999 World Cup
    • 2000: Wisden Cricketer of the Year 2000
    • 2004: Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy Winner (Awarded for ICC Player of the Year)
    • 2004: Padma Shri
    • 2004: ICC Test Player of The Year, MTV Youth Icon of the Year for 2004
    • 2006: Captain of the ICC's Test Team

      Endorsements

      • Reebok: 1996 - present
      • Pepsi: 1997 present
      • Kissan: Unknown
      • Castrol: 2001 - present
      • Hutch: 2003
      • Karnataka Tourism: 2004
      • Max Life: 2005 - present
      • Bank of Baroda: 2005 - present
      • Citizen: 2006 - present[65]
      • Skyline Construction: 2006 - present
      • Sansui: 2007
      • Gillette: 2007 - present
      • Samsung: 2002 - 2004