I have always considered Rahul Dravid as one of the finest cricketers available on Indian soil. Recently I was surprised to see a review titled Tortoise by sPACE jUNKIE who did not rate Rahul as a good one day cricketer. I do agree Rahul could have won us the game against Sri Lanka (which we lost by 6 runs) , but I guess it is too dractic to dismiss his capabalities entirely. But, to each his own. sPACE jUNKIE has the right to like or dislike whoever he wants. But I decided to make this discussion a little more interesting. I opens this out to all MS members to join this discussion and rate my analysis so I can know what my fellow members think of Rhaul and his contribution to Indian Cricket.
I will only discuss Rahul’s contribution to One Day Cricket, because like sPACE jUNKIE I also agree that he is a brilliant Test Match player
Let us first look at his statistics. Although I agree it is not the correct measure of an individuals performance but no discussion on cricket can be fruitful without it.
Mat Runs Average
Overall 156 4976 37.41
In India 39 1331 36.97
Foreign Soil 42 1672 52.25
Neutral Grounds 75 1973 30.35
As our team is getting over crowded with ’’flash-in-the-pan’’ performers, Rahul has been one ofe the consistent main stay. Debuting against Sri Lanka in Singapore in 1995 / 96 Rahul had a quite begining. His first big score (90) came in his 12th game in Toranto against Pakistan. With every match Rahul made a mark in the world of cricket. He was later dropped for not being a cricketer for the instant variety (wonder what it means). Rahul made a spanking comeback in the 1999 World Cup. After that there was no looking back for him. He established himself in both forms of the game.
From the inception of the game in this country we have had handful of cricketers successful on fast and bouncy foreign wickets. Rahul’s performance on foreign soil is remarkable. Out of his 7 centuries and 32 fifties, 5 and 23 have been scored on foreign grounds.
Sachin and Sourav is one of the most attacking and successful one day opening pair. The number three position therefore the most critical. In most cases when one of them is dismissed the strike rates are usually on the high side of 90. Mr. Cool walks in and does his prescribed job of holding on to the wickets, so that the remaining opener can keep pushing on the gas, with ease. But the contrast is drastic. The crowd gets impatient. Dravid is termed slow. He has a temperment to play his natural game, when it is very difficult to watch one of the opening twins smelling the leather.
Rahul’s wicket is often so secure that the other batsman can chose the any manner of batting. So many occassions an Indian batsman has given the innings of his life partnering with Mr. Dependable on the other end. Opposites attract.
Rahul’s finest display of his abilities came in the 1999 World Cup. The entire nation was devasteted with Sachin Tendulkar’s personal loss. The loss was more profound because of its timing. The most unlikely Indian took up the challenge to take the pressure out of Sachin, as if to say, ’’Dont worry partner, I will take care of the situation’’. Rahul ended with 461 runs in 8 matches with a batting average of 65.85, two centuries and 3 fifties. Then again it is a different story on the final result of the tournament.
Rahuls failure on this particular day (against Sri Lanka)is so fresh in our minds that our memory seems to fall short. Rahul is not only technically correct but a sound cricketer who can play his natural game in every situation, and as every other human being has failed somtimes. I dare say, our future captain, has a long way to go.