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Full name Rahul Dravid
Born January 11, 1973, Indore, Madhya Pradesh
Current age 32 years 184 days
Major teams India, Scotland, ACC Asian XI, Karnataka, Kent
Batting style Right-hand bat
Bowling style Right-arm offbreak
Fielding position Occasional wicketkeeper
class mat inns no runs hs ave bf sr 100 50 4s 6s ct
st
Tests 89 151 18 7696 270 57.86 18306 42.04 20 36 960 12 123 0
ODIs 252 231 28 8134 153 40.06 11597 70.13 10 59 675 25 153 14
First-class 202 329 46 16219 270 57.31 45 80 238 1
List A 349 321 43 12067 153 43.40 18 85 187 17
class mat balls runs wkts bbi bbm ave econ sr 4 5 10
Tests 89 120 39 1 1/18 1/18 39.00 1.94 120.00 0 0 0
ODIs 252 186 170 4 2/43 2/43 42.50 5.48 46.50 0 0 0
First-class 202 617 273 5 2/16 54.60 2.65 123.40 0 0
List A 349 477 421 4 2/43 2/43 105.25 5.29 119.25 0 0 0
StatsGuru Tests filter | StatsGuru One-Day Internationals filter
Test debut England v India at Lord's - Jun 20-24, 1996 scorecard
Last Test India v Pakistan at Bangalore - Mar 24-28, 2005 scorecard
ODI debut India v Sri Lanka at Singapore - Apr 3, 1996 scorecard
Last ODI India v Pakistan at Delhi - Apr 17, 2005 scorecard
First-class span 1990/91 - 2004/05
List A span 1992/93 - 2004/05
Notes : Wisden Cricketer of the Year 2000
ICC Test Player of
the Year 2004
ICC Player of the
Year 2004
Rahul Dravid, a cricketer who seamlessly blends an
old-world classicism with a new-age professionalism, is the best No.
3 batsman to play for India - and might even be considered one of
the best ever by the time his career is done. He already averages
around 60 at that position, more than any regular No. 3 batsman in
the game's history, barring Don Bradman. Unusually for an Indian
batsman, he also averages more overseas - around 60, again - than at
home. But impressive as his statistics are, they cannot represent
the extent of his importance to India, or the beauty of his
batsmanship.
When Dravid began playing Test cricket, he was quickly stereotyped
as a technically correct player capable of stonewalling against the
best attacks - his early nickname was `The Wall' - but of little
else. As the years went by, though, Dravid, a sincere batsman who
brought humility and a deep intelligence to his study of the game,
grew in stature, finally reaching full blossom under Sourav
Ganguly's captaincy. As a New India emerged, so did a new Dravid:
first, he put on the wicketkeeping gloves in one-dayers, and
transformed himself into an astute finisher in the middle-order;
then, he strung together a series of awe-inspiring performances in
Test matches, as India crept closer and closer to their quest of an
overseas series win.
Dravid's golden phase began, arguably, in Kolkata 2001, with a
supporting act, when he made 180 to supplement VVS Laxman's classic
effort of 281 against Australia. But from then on, Dravid became
India's most valuable player, saving them Tests at Port Elizabeth,
Georgetown and Trent Bridge, winning them Tests at Headlingley,
Adelaide, Kandy and Rawalpindi. At one point during this run, he
carved up four centuries in successive innings, and hit four
double-centuries in the space of 15 Tests, including in historic
away-wins at Adelaide and Rawalpindi. As India finished off the 2004
Pakistan tour on a winning note, on the back of Dravid's epic 270,
his average crept past Sachin Tendulkar's - and it seemed no
aberration.
Dravid's amazing run was no triumph of substance over style, though,
for he has plenty of both. A classical strokeplayer who plays every
shot in the book, he often outscores team-mates like Tendulkar and
Laxman in the course of partnerships with them, and while his
pulling and cover-driving is especially breathtaking, he has every
other shot in the book as well. He is both an artist and a
craftsman, repeatedly constructing innings that stand out not merely
for the beauty of their execution, but for the context in which they
come. By the time he entered his 30s, Dravid was already in the
pantheon of great Indian batsmen, alongside Tendulkar and Sunil
Gavaskar. What else could he achieve? Anything |
