Rahul Dravid has always impressed with his dogged performances in the face of any crisis. His precocious play has always been an asset to the Indian team. He has lead from the front on most occasions that he has been in charge. Yet, most of us Indians have this tendency to keep needling our players lord knows to achieve what. The biggest mistake we make while castigating our team is to pan players individually. That’s what begets insecurity amongst them leading to selfishness on field on so many occasions.
DRAVID-THE PLAYER
But that’s where Mr. Dravid comes in. With his tenacious disposition, Dravid has always made critics eat their words again and again in most regards.
Innate Strengths:
Determination: This aspect of his game has always stood out right from when he made his debut in 1996 vs. England. He missed out on a 100 on both his first matches playing for the country, but what was clear was that India now had a player who would make it a point not to give his wicket away. The opposition would have to earn it themselves. We get to see this aspect especially in Test matches, the true test of a cricketer where he holds forte in spite of taunts from the Aussies, a rough words and lethal from the bowlers, continuous spells of good bowling, you name it – he’ll be Mr. Cool in any case.
Technique: Another great thing about him is his copybook technique of play. One especially gets to see this in the Tests , considering he has made his game more innovative in the shorter form of the game to suit the team’s needs. He can play all the traditional shots with in absolute counterpoise, with the right footwork, right movement of hands, right posture and timing. This is exactly why you’ll seldom find commentators blaming him for his own mistake on getting out.
Temperament: This is onetrait I doubtany other cricketer has more than he does. Having oodles of it, he mostly believes in frustrating the bowlers into giving him the loose balls than go for expansive strokes to minimize the risk of getting out. And it works for the sole reason- that he doesn’t give you an inch on most occasions, which is why bowlers forced to do things differently end up making mincemeat of themselves.
Consistency: This section would indeed be incomplete if we don’t talk about his regular and dependable performances. I’ve seen many great players like Sachin, Lara ans so on have long lean patches , but this fellow has always made significant contributions at regular intervals. I could hardly count those few series where he didn’t get going at all.
Those are the 4 key factors that make Dravid. Given below though are some of the other abilities he has developed over the years to help himself and his team more than he already did.
Strike Rotation: Although nothing seems to be wrong with the player looking above at his strengths, he had been denigrated on occasions, when he used to get bogged down at times, allowing the bowler to dictate terms and his teammate getting frustrated at the other end. That is when, he developed this art of dropping the ball anywhere around him and changing strike, giving the bowler something else to think about.
Innovative: This is an aspect of his game which is fairly new and has made him a key one day player in the last five to six years or so. Earlier on the opposition only had a patient , technical Dravid to contend with. Now, to suit the needs of his one day side he has added this weapon in the form of playing creative shots, not essentially technical by nature but effective in getting the desired results. He has learnt to use the aerial route when necessary and play shots as long as balance is maintained to achieve more rapid results. That spells double trouble for the opposition.
RAHUL’s DECADE LONG ILLUSTRIOUS CAREER
It’s been 10 years since the man first came to the fore. Really has never looked ever since amassing very close to 10, 000 runs in both forms of the game averaging a respectable 39.73 at a strike rate of 71 in One Dayers and a handsome 58.76 in Test Matches. He has 35 hundreds in all, having scored 23 of them in Test Matches and 12 in one dayers. But the staggering figure here is his 117 half centuries, combining both forms of the game. He also has an average of 65 in world cups and in Test Matches played abroad. Considering he’s a better player in Tests, where he gets to play the dominant role more often let us have a look at some of his best performances:
5.v New Zealand, 1999 [Hamilton] – Scores a determined 190 followed by a second innings 103* to help India draw the match after they had lost their way in the first match of the series.
4.v Pakistan, 2005 [Kolkata] – Scores a century in both innings yet again to give his team a 195 run victory.
3.v Pakistan, 2004 [Rawalpindi] – Scores a mammoth 270 to inflict an innings defeat on India’s arch rivals.
2.v Australia, 2001 [Kolkata] – His 180 in the second innings as a supporting role to Laxman helps India not only to avoid a humiliating defeat but to win a lost match ending Australia’s long unbeaten run.
1.v Australia, 2003 [Adelaide] - Scores a 233 to follow it up with an unbeaten 72* to give India their first test victory on Australian soil in many years.
This however doesn’t mean he is not a handful in One Dayers, but it’s basically his prowess in Test matches tends to overshadow his consistency in One Dayers.
Why Rahul is known as the utility man?
He has always been an asset to the team irrespective of the role he has played. Whenever we needed flexibility in the keeping department he was there to answer the call. Before and after that he has always proved to have a safe pair of hands especially in the slips bagging a total 323 catches. In terms of batting order, he has played as opener and done the needful at no.6 as well on several occasions besides being a peripheral figure at no. 3.Why, he has even bowled for his team and taken wickets as well when it’d come to that. He’s always there to answer his team’s needs.
Why he is a bit of an unsung hero?
That’s primarily because he plays the supporting role more often and in spite of his consistency others’ flamboyance tend to condone his performances. Take for example his 180 while Laxman scored 281, his 153 v New Zealand while Sachin scored 186*.That’s been the story with him mostly.
He has had a rough time off late but Mr.Consistent that he is, he’s sure to bounce back. Like we all know, “Form is temporary but class is permanent.”