Rahul Dravid - The personification of an Understated Elegance.

 

Rahul, will you keep wickets, so that the team can have an extra batsmen/bowler?

Rahul, we are in the verge of a loss, will you be on the grease for the next two days?

Rahul, we are in need of a captain, will you lead these young guys?

Rahul, some of these batsmen are not comfortable in their batting positions, will you swap your batting position?

Rahul, we are looking for a team of young players, will you stay back?

Rahul, this team of young guys is struggling to face the experienced bowlers, will you be back?

Rahul, we are in need of someone to guide these young kids, will you be their coach?

He did all these and much more. That was Rahul Dravid, the stalwart now and always, calm and composed, pliable to the players around and the team. I have always wondered and pondered about what made myself admire Dravid, a little more than any other sportsmen. Why am I awe struck, when I think of the non-destructible innings that he has always contributed? Was it because of the rock-solid techniques he was known for? Or was it due to the awe-inspiring and sublime innings he had played when the time needed? Was it because of the calm and sensible smile he always carried over? Or was it due to the fierce competitiveness that he was known for?

Over time dissecting my thick-skulled brain, I found some answers to the questions.

Test cricket is the best form of cricket as the constraints are very low and you would find bowlers and batsmen come up with new techniques and experiments. Definitely the hardest from of cricket, that tests the patience, the stability, the fitness and much more. I believe Dravid is the best test batsman India had so far.

He can block the ball all day long in any given conditions. Be it the bouncy pitches in South Africa and Australia, the swinging conditions in England or the sub-continent rank turners,  he was the most dependable batsman. Its astonishing to look on how Dravid's name comes along with greatest partnerships in the world Cricket. His peerless ability to hold on to an end, no matter what happens authorized the partner to bat aggressively. 

Dravid's deal with numbers and figures are very difficult to be surpassed by any other batsman, but are not very obvious. One needs to dig deep to understand that Dravid is not about the runs. It is about the minutes trudged and about how he made the opposition sweat! It is about how he tossed the opposition's attack, just to make the life of a non-striker easy! It is about how he stood out managing the new ball, when the opener failed, thus protecting the lower order from the swings.

When Dravid was at the crease, the team scored 32,039 runs given that the entire Indian team scored 89,668 runs. About 35.6 percent of the total runs that India made in Tests involving Dravid were scored with him at the crease. The corresponding percentage for Tendulkar is 29.9, and 32.6 for Kallis. It is also the highest partnership runs scored by any batsman ever.

Rahul has been sarcastic at times. It was on 26th dec 2007, at Melbourne, India played a test against Australia. India were 4/1 while Dravid was an opener. He played 40 balls and never took a run. He then took a single in the 41st ball, if my memory is right. The Australian crowd in the stadium gave a standing ovation sarcastically for which the man raised the bat as a gesture. You know what would've happened if that was Kohli or someone else. He was always reserved in celebrations as well as restrained in disappointments - the best exhibit of true sportsmanship.

We often talk about the effortless drives and the epoch-making century of the charming Prince Ganguly in his debut at Lord's. But along with him was another debutant who scored 95, but we barely remember his innings.

Who would forget the fourth day of the India-Australia match at Eden Gardens in 2001? It was Laxman's day, who came to the crease at no.3, and scored 281. There was another man down at No.6, notching one of the best partnerships in the world and supporting Laxman construct the greatest Test performance of the last 50 years. Dravid'sinnings . They together batted for more than 100 overs,  made 376 runs, with no wicket falling on the day 4. There was not a single catch given inspite of the Aussies using nine bowlers. That's THE WALL.

India took on Australia at Adelaide in 2003 and Australia made 556. India, through a herculean partnership of 303 between Dravid and Laxman, recovered from 85 for 4 to 477 for 7. It was the third day and Dravid was on strike at 199. The first ball of the last over (90th over) of day three is being bowled. Dravid hits the ball to deep cover. He has two choices

(1) take a single, complete his double century but expose the tailender Anil Kumble to rest of the five deliveries or refuse to take the easy single, defend the next five balls 

(2) risk taking a single from the last ball of the day and protect Kumble. 

Dravid refuses the single that would take him to 200. He remained stranded at 199 overnight and would have endured a sleepless night. Dravid never traded the team's interest for the sake of personal milestones.

There is nothing to wonder as to why everything looked fine and in control when Rahul Dravid was around at the cricket field. In the absence of an opening batsman against Pakistan in the 2006 tour, Dravid partnered with Sehwag to share a stupendous 410-run partnership in the Lahore Test. Dravid scored a 128 (not out) and Sehwag scored 254 runs. This innings of  Dravid was also clouded by a Sehwag's double century.

One can never erase the memories of Sehwag's triple century against South Africa. Who else claim to hit a six when he is 5 runs short of 300. But there was another batsman who partnered for 278 minutes with Sehwag and they together made 268 runs . But It was only the triple century of Sehwag that went down the history books.

2003-04: India won a historic ODI and test series on Pakistan soil. Dravid plays a crucial role by keeping wickets which meant that Ganguly could have that extra batsman India were in need of. Dravid scores a fluent 270 against a quality pace attack. The favorite memory of the tour for the Indian crowd is Viru's 309.

Who would forget the Natwest series and the shirtless Ganguly. It was Yuvraj and Kaif, who played with the bat and made sure India won. But there was someone else that day, who  took the additional responsibility of keeping wickets and ensured Kaif would play. Do we realize that?

That's how it is always. We are busy praising and applauding the legends, while Dravid was an unsung hero, who performed silently when the team needed. It is not a mere coincidence that the top four of five scores by Indian batsmen have come when Rahul Dravid was at the other end. 

One needs courage to come at the front and take on the opposition. But it takes nerves of iron for standing there, still combating when other batsmen are losing their wickets quickly. That was Dravid. The man who never stopped fighting, never gave up, stood on the crease for hours and hours and that too without complaining.

He did that from time and again,for two decades eclipsed behind the legends and greats with great temperament and composure. He remained quite and showcased very little emotions.Rooted firmly, he had complete control over his surroundings. So, he never cribbed or complained, when he was ignored or when he didn’t receive the credit.

He just continued to do the thing he was supposed to do. Bat and bat,for hours, for days, until the team reached safe shores.

That was he - a true gentlemen on and off the screen.

Rahul Sharad Dravid, the hero we didn’t see!