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From
Tehelka Magazine, Vol 9, Issue 12, Dated 24 Mar 2012 |
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| CULTURE & SOCIETY |
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RAHUL DRAVID |
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Suresh Menon on the innings that built
the wall
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Photo: AP |
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When Rahul Dravid made 180 in a Test match, he was upstaged by a man who made 281 (VVS Laxman). When he made his then highest score of 145 in a one-day international, Sourav Ganguly made 183 in the same innings. When Dravid topped that by making 153 against New Zealand, Tendulkar scored 186. While he was going through an England tour as the only Indian batsman who mattered, the focus was not so much on Dravid’s three centuries as on the non-century from Tendulkar.
So much so that when he announced a press conference, to be attended by BCCI President N Srinivasan, a mischievous rumour was spread that in keeping with the trend of other people stealing his thunder, it’d be Srinivasan who would be announcing his retirement.
Yet, it is possible to argue, as some statisticians have done, that Dravid is the greatest Indian batsman ever. It is not the runs that matter, but their quality and the ability to absorb pressure, they say. It is difficult to counter that, especially when you consider the following — his 10 best innings and the context in which they were made.
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Photo: AFP |
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95 Vs. ENGLAND At Lord’s, 1996
DRAVID’S DEBUT MATCH best remembered for Sourav Ganguly’s century on debut and Dravid’s decision to ‘walk’ after he got the faintest of touches to a Chris Lewis delivery. Batting at number seven, just ahead of Anil Kumble, Dravid thus exhibited in his first match the qualities that would be reinforced through a 16-year career. Grace under pressure, moral certainty and the ability to raise his game when the going got tough. Within six months, VVS Laxman made his debut and the Fab Four were on their way.
148 Vs. South Africa At Johannesburg, 1997
APPROPRIATELY enough, Dravid’s first century came at No 3 and in an away Test. It took him nine hours and enabled India to take the lead against South Africa for the only time in the three-Test series. The manner he played the shortpitched ball (the opening bowlers were Allan Donald and Shaun Pollock), was un-Indian, pulling and hooking with ease. It was to become an important part of his repertoire as his career progressed.
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Photo: AFP |
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190 Vs. New Zealand At Hamilton, 1999
IN NEARLY SEVEN DECADES OF TEST CRICKET, Dravid became only the third player, after Vijay Hazare and Sunil Gavaskar, to make hundreds in both innings of a match (he would do it again, against Pakistan). The 190 combined style and effectiveness to a pleasing degree as Dravid ensured there would be no second successive defeat in New Zealand. With Tendulkar he added 109, and after India collapsed to 211 for seven, added 144 with Javagal Srinath and 61 with Venkatesh Prasad to take India past 400.
180 Vs. Australia at Kolkata, 2001
AS DRAVID ADDED 376 with Laxman (281), a slew of records was broken. India ended Australia’s unbeaten run of 16 Test wins; they won after following on, becoming only the third team to do so. In hindsight, this was seen as the starting point of India’s climb to the top of the Test rankings. India won the next Test at Chennai to take the series after losing the first Test of three. The result brought to the national team a new confidence, and under Ganguly a self-belief that was to sustain them for another decade. Match umpire Peter Willey, who had been part of the team that had last won after following-on in Botham’s Test at Headingley, wrote later, “They were two of the best innings you will ever see in cricket, in the context of the game. As much as Laxman’s double century was great, I reckon Dravid’s 180 was equally great.”
148 Vs. England at Leeds, 2002
IN SOME WAYS, this match has greater claims to being considered the starting point of India’s road to No 1. India did something they would have hesitated to do 10 times out of 10 earlier — they decided to bat first under an overcast sky on a track made for seam bowling. This brave decision led to an innings victory as Dravid, Tendulkar and Ganguly all made centuries, Dravid’s being described by England captain Nasser Hussain as the best he had seen. For the first time, India had three successive 150-run partnerships, thus justifying Ganguly’s decision to go in with two spinners. The 148 at Leeds is part of Indian cricketing folklore — 35 years earlier Tiger Pataudi had made that score as India followed on and made over 500 there. But India lost that Test.
233 Vs. Australia In Adelaide, 2003-04
ANOTHER 300-RUN PARTNERSHIP with Laxman (148) after India were 85 for four chasing Australia’s 556 saw India nearly catch up. Dravid’s unbeaten 72 in the second innings meant he had been at the crease for nearly 12 hours to guide India to an improbable victory, their first in Australia in 23 years. When Dravid hit the winning stroke, skipper Steve Waugh chased the ball, retrieved it from the gutter behind the cover boundary and handed it over to the batsman. Dravid, like Waugh, had already become the cricketer’s cricketer.
270 Vs.Pakistan At Rawalpindi, 2004
DRAVID’S HIGHEST TEST SCORE was a series-clinching innings, as India triumphed in Pakistan for the first time. After 13 hours at the crease, Dravid took the team score to 600 and ensured India would not have to bat again. It was his fifth double, one ahead of Gavaskar’s tally. Although the first part lacked the fluency associated with his batting, it was the context rather than the style that mattered. Perhaps appropriately enough, he was bowled uncharacteristically, attempting one of the game’s ugliest strokes — the reverse sweep.
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Photo: AFP |
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81&68 Vs.West Indies In Jamaica, 2005-06
DRAVID LED FROM THE FRONT as India earned a series win in the West Indies for the first time in 34 years. The 81 came out of a total of 200 with Anil Kumble’s 45 being the next best. The track was a minefield and defeated Brian Lara, Sehwag, Laxman, Chanderpaul, but Dravid did it again in the second innings, making 68 of 171 to set a target of 269. India won by 49 runs, Dravid’s twin efforts invaluable in a low-scoring match.
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Photo: Reuters |
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146 N.O.Vs.England At the Oval, 2011
INDIA ARRIVED FOR THE FOURTH TEST demoralised after three defeats in a row in the year Dravid turned 38. His final Test in England produced the century the first failed to but again Dravid finished on the losing side, a rare experience as the batsman himself admitted. Forced to open in the absence of the injured Gautam Gambhir, Dravid carried his bat through the innings, and after six-and-a-half hours at the crease returned to it immediately as India followed on.
145 Vs.Sri Lanka [129 Balls] World Cup 1999
DRAVID has played more important innings in one-day cricket, but few as freely as this century in the World Cup where he emerged as the highest scorer. He remains the only batsman with two partnerships over 300 runs in ODI cricket. Here he added 318 with Ganguly; in the same year he and Tendulkar put on 331 against New Zealand in Hyderabad.
Menon is Editor, WisdenIndia Almanack
talmenon@yahoo.com
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Walk With Pride
The greatness of Rahul Dravid lies not in his achievements, but in the way he achieved them.Bishen Singh Bedi on the most unassuming cricketer of our times and the values he leaves behind
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Photo: AFP |
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THE LAST time I sent a mail to Rahul Dravid was when he had read out his superb bit at the Sir Donald Bradman Oration in Canberra. There was no reply, so I thought he might be preoccupied with his preparation for the Australia tour. Knowing Rahul’s impeccable temperament to focus on detail, I kept my own counsel and decided to follow his and Team India’s fortunes in the media. As things turned out, the tour itself is already confined to proverbial history, but Rahul isn’t, or so I thought.
Two days before he formally announced his retirement, Rahul called me up to convey the news about his decision. While it was kind of him to have kept me in the loop, I’d have had no complaints if like millions of his fans, I had read about his retirement in the media.
But the fact that he called left me dumbfounded. I was speechless when he reminded me of a scholarship that he got (most deservingly) as an Under-16 player from SAIL when I was working for that PSU. He thought I was promoting him. The truth was that I was only acknowledging his enormous potential. It is also true that I wouldn’t have remembered had he not reminded me. Gratitude is the hallmark of all greats and Rahul is no exception.
I have often thought that Rahul would have been a great golfer or a tennis player because his level of personal commitment was exceptionally high — which at times can get clouded or even lost in a team cause. Having gone through all the accolades that have come his way, it is impossible to believe there was, or would be, a better team man than Rahul Dravid. And yet when I recall all the sweat pouring from every pore of the man, which also included the crest of the Indian helmet he wore, I used to wonder how can this man survive without cramps? Quite clearly, he had set himself very high standards of physical fitness, which was duly complemented by his enormous mental strength. That is exactly why I felt Rahul pitted against a Tiger Woods or a Roger Federer would have been a heavenly contest. But our own Rahul decided to take up the cudgels on behalf of some of the lesser mortals who’d have never stood their ground in an individual competition.
Much has been written and said about Rahul’s single-minded devotion to his batting precision, his indefatigable urge to pursue excellence for the team cause and also his mindboggling stats, both at home and away. We cannot help but salute the man’s imperious virtuosity in keeping alive the basic character of cricket. Well, if I may suggest, Rahul is cricket and vice versa — the way the individual and the institution have merged into each other is the most colourful phenomenon we have been blessed to witness on the Indian scene. I consider myself fortunate to have been alive to have seen this ‘David’ grow into a ‘Goliath’ without having to destroy the latter.
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I’m fortunate to have seen this ‘David’ grow into a ‘Goliath’ without having to destroy the latter |
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A lot many have said that we will miss Rahul. I don’t think so. Rahul’s legacy will linger on as long as cricket is played in our country. Artists never fade away, they keep coming back in thought and deeds in various forms of human discussion. They say that Rahul is one of the greats of Indian cricket. I’ll not challenge that but I’m entitled to say that he is the greatest cricketer of our times. Can we put aside all the stats for a moment and just contemplate the numerous causes Rahul took upon himself because the team demanded them? He batted in all positions that specialist batsmen are expected to and kept wickets when called upon to do so. I’m not sure how I’d have felt bowling with Rahul behind the stumps. But then I was hardly a one-day player. Once he was done batting, Rahul was quick to don the slip-catching role with aplomb. The level of concentration moved from facing the ball to facing the edge of the bat. Day in, day out, Rahul did it without flinching, always seeming to keep in mind that human life is but a game of cricket.
It was Rahul’s overall attitude that made him such a wonderful student and thereby a lovely servant of the game. Yes, we can say in the modern context that maybe the supply line of such gentlemen cricketers will suffer a jolt. I suppose we will have to wait and watch.
Rahul has been God’s gift to Indian cricket. I have not had the privilege of meeting his parents but it is easy to decipher that he acquired all his cricketing values from the warmth of his middle-class Maharashtrian family atmosphere, a lot like Sachin Tendulkar’s. Both Rahul and Sachin are outstanding examples of “maryada purshotam”.
Where Rahul edges past Sachin is in his powerful urge to know and read about the history of cricket; the urge is almost never-ending. This and many other facets of Rahul’s character make him a special personality.
If I have a small grudge, and it’s only a small one, against Rahul, it is that he didn’t smile enough or fooled around on the cricket field. I don’t wish to take liberties because our Rahul is no laughing matter.
Finally, I’d have liked to know from Rahul himself why he relinquished the Indian captaincy when he did. That is a bit of a mystery in an otherwise fabulous career. I suppose we will get to know the truth from the man himself, sometime in the not-toodistant future. Meanwhile, all I can tell him is that life really begins after retirement. God be with you, Rahul. Now and always.
letters@tehelka.com |
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