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Sunday, June 26, 2011

Being Rahul Dravid

By Radhakrishnan Sreenivasan for DNA
Being Rahul Dravid is possibly one of the tougher vocations in modern day sport. For starters, he has to prove to himself he has the mind and more importantly the body to score runs at the highest level; then convince the world he is not far away from the Dravid they are used to seeing. I remember Sachin Tendulkar telling me once, when he started his career, it was the mind that he was more worried about and as he entered his third decade in international cricket, it was more the body that needed attention.

At 38, there’s always an added pressure besides the rigours that international sport presents anyways. That’s the pressure that doesn’t necessarily comes from within. When Rahul does get runs as he did in Sabina Park, people will start talking about his class and experience. He would have pleased the romantics who have always stood by him anyhow and would have managed to silence the critics for a while. Yes, he did get a reprieve early in his innings, but those are the kinds of things that need to go your way in the midst of a battle. He was the first man to step on to the field on Day Three of the Test and he was pretty much the last man to get off it — a total of six hours and 42 minutes at the crease. He faced close to 50 overs. The strike rate was its usual humble self and the job was done. “Physically it was a bit of challenge. I have not played a Test match for the last six months. So it was physically tough and I am a bit tired at the moment”, Rahul had commented.
He has always scored runs at the Sabina Park in Kingston but why should this one be so special for himself to begin with? The last time he was there, he was the captain, the Man of the Match and the Man of the Series. The world was different. He had averaged close to 60. In the preceding nine Tests beginning the series of Pakistan in 2006, he averaged a whopping 73.36 and he was 33 years old. Compare that to where he is now. In fact, since the last time he played that innings at Kingston, a fighting 81, he’s averaged little over 40 — a number that Rahul wouldn’t be proud ofand it has stayed that way over the last year and a half. “I enjoyed the contest. That’s what you play at this stage of your career. You play for making important contributions for your team. When you find that you can make some difference and every time you play you want to score. So it’s nice to score runs at this point.” That was Dravid’s comments after he had put his name up for the Man of the Match award.
The challenge comes from keeping yourself motivated for the battle that comes your way once in a while these days. A flirt with the shortest format of the game is the only “competition” that he faces at the highest level. Barring that, he’s within the walls of his mind, convincing that he can do the job when the opportunity presents itself. Talking to the likes of Sunil Joshi and Dav Whatmore who have been around the National Cricket Academy and know Dravid a lot better, the message is clear — you don’t find too many more committed cricketers than him sweating towards perfection. The challenge comes from realising you are not getting any younger. Putting those aside to one corner of your mind is the biggest challenge.
It’s a big summer and Dravid knows that. Seven Test matches at a stretch is a feast for someone who wants to stay put at the top for a while longer. Every day from here will be an interesting mix. While the hard yards are necessary to carry the legs a bit further, the sense of fulfillment and enjoyment will be his priority. In fact some of the very best with whom I have had an opportunity to chat about tell me it’s perhaps about having the same mindset when you first held a cricket bat. It was more play and less work.

Friday, June 24, 2011

Rahul Dravid: Patience Personified

Vineeth S @ SportsKeeda
The Wall: Still going strong

If one has grown up watching cricket in the 90’s and 2000’s, then the Indian middle order quartet will have been missed when Sourav Ganguly retired in 2008. Three years on, the remaining three soldiers are still going strong, with dogged match winning performances. At 38 years of age, Rahul Dravid has now completed 15 years of international cricket. He is currently the oldest active cricketer in the game, and continues to come up with staggering performances. On the day he scored his 32nd Test century against West Indies, here is a look back at his mantra for success, and some of his most memorable Test knocks.
Clearly, the USP of his batting is his patience. He is prepared for the hard grind and sets himself for the long haul every time he has the willow in his hand. He had the best technique among Indian batsmen in his prime, better than even Sachin Tendulkar. He also has an amazing away Test record , which almost mirrors his home Tests record. It did not seem to matter whether the wicket was a fast, bouncy one like Perth or a seaming, grass laden Trent Bridge wicket or a dust bowl in Mumbai, runs flowed off his bat irrespective. When he started out, occupation of the crease was his forte and runs would be accumulated slowly. Over time, and playing limited overs cricket, he brought in innovations in his game and got his runs at a fair clip. Over the last couple of years, with age catching up and not being in the best of form, he has gone back to his accumulation mode, which has begun to serve him well again.
Nicknamed the wall, he would block one end completely so that bowlers would get so exasperated and try getting the batsman at the other end. Also, one cannot remember him having problems against a particular type of bowler and this could be attributed to his impeccable technique. Minor flaws did creep into his game a couple of years ago, but he worked hard at the nets and overcame the flaw. Batting long hours never seemed a problem, and as demonstrated against the Windies now, he has still got it. Captaincy did not seem to affect his batting one bit , in fact the added responsibility added as a boost. His 112 in more than 6 hours at Jamaica in 2011 is not the first instance of batting long periods.  Here’s a look back at some of his defining performance in the five day format.
148 at Johannesburg Vs South Africa, 1997
It was his first Test century and came in his 9th Test match. India had a tough tour till then losing both Tests by huge margins. A patient century by Rahul Dravid against a pace battery of Donald, Mcmillan, Pollock and Klusener gave India a platform from which they could control the Test match.He occupied the crease for over 9 hours. He also scored a quick 81 in the second innings to force a declaration.However, rain put paid to India’s hopes of winning their first ever Test match in South Africa as the match was drawn with India needing just two wickets.
177 in Ahmedabad and 144 in Kanpur Vs SriLanka, 2009
India were in trouble in the first Test of the series losing 4 wickets for 32 runs. A Dravid masterclass in terms of style and quality of strokes took India past 400. He backed it up with another century in the next Test as runs flowed from his bat after a rather long lean patch. It was his second wind and helped India to an innings and series win. These two innings displayed that he could score at fairly quick rate as well as his strike rates on both occasions was above 60. A combined total of 11 hours were spent in the middle.
136 at Mohali Vs England ,2008
A rather long lean patch brought in a lot of criticism and his place in the Test side was questioned.A poor series against Australia and no centuries for 11 Tests finally ended with a dogged century against England at Mohali. The tenacity in Rahul Dravid came to the fore as he bit and fought his way to a century against an impressive attack consisiting of Anderson, Broad, Flintoff and Swann. Almost 8 hours were spent at the wicket and went a long way in silencing his critics.
81 and 68 vs West Indies at Jamaica, 2006
A masterclass in batsmanship by the then captain,and with the series up for grabs, he played a lone hand in both innings and was one of only three batsmen to get a half century in the Test. India made a combined total of 371 runs in their two innings as Dravid alone accounted for 149 of those, on a minefield of a wicket. It helped India win a series in the Caribbean after 35 odd years. A combined total of 10 hours at the wicket yielded two of his most memorable innings, outside of his century innings.
115 at Trent Bridge and 148 at Headingley vs England 2002
In his prime, Rahul Dravid was unstoppable during this tour as he reeled off three centuries on the trot, including a double century at the Oval. However, his 115 at Trent Bridge helped India save the Test and stay in the series , an effort lasting 338 mins. The next one was even more remarkable as he negotiated a tricky first day under overcast skies to conjure up a century and set up an Indian win. He restricted his strokeplay and built a platform to help a middle order assualt by Tendulkar and Ganguly.
270 at Rawalpindi Vs Pakistan 2004
With the series tied at 1-1 each, Rahul Dravid batted for a mind boggling 740 minutes for his career best 270. This is his longest innings till date and was instrumental in setting up a series win in Pakistan after 20 odd years. It is rated as one of his best innings for the sheer duration of his innings and coming in an away Test match.
180 at Kolkata Vs Australia, 2001
This innings had to feature in the list as his partnership with VVS Laxman is part of cricketing folklore. India were following on and were 1-0 down in the series before Dravid and Laxman decided to alter the script. Laxman was elevated to the No 3 slot and Dravid was pushed down to No 6 for the second innings.. He batted for 446 mins and his partnership with Laxman was worth 376. India remarkably went on to win the match and the series.
233 and 72* at Adelaide Vs Australia ,2004
After being pounded by Ricky Ponting, India were wobbling at 85-4 chasing Australia’s 557. Dravid’s old mate VVS Laxman joined him in the middle and the two put on another 300 run partnership. His 233 in the first essay helped India to 523, while his 72* guided India to a tricky target of 233 in the fourth innings. A combined total of close to 14 hours at the crease brought India one of the most cherished wins in recent memory and established Dravid as a legend of the game.

Rahul Dravid: A champion match winner

Dibyasundar Nayak @ SportsKeeda
Another match India won after a classy innings by Rahul Dravid. A champion match winner whose batting career is full with instances of trials and tribulations, Rahul Dravid has carved his own name even if he had to bat in the same era which saw genius Sachin Tendulkar. Some even rate Rahul above Sachin when it comes to match winning capabilities. We won’t go into those comparison stuff. After 15 years of constant service, what matters is that Dravid is still playing, scoring runs, piling centuries and above all winning matches for India. A batsman who made batting an art, Rahul is still the idol of thousands of budding cricketers all over the country. The new age fast forward cricket fans may not prefer the arty batting which is Rahul’s forte, but the importance of his skills and abilities is noticed when he single handedly wins matches for the team like he did the other day in the test match against the west indies. Someone pointed it very correctly, “His superb innings at Sabina Park, Jamaica is the testimony to his batting genius. He unleashed a majestic innings of 112, when the next highest individual score was just 28.”
The batting department already depleted because of injury and rest of the experts, Rahul had to score well as well as steer the young batsmen along with him. He did that very well and helped the team to post enough on the board to win the match convincingly at the end. A batsman like him who always loves and enjoys challenges, this was nothing new. After all, he has been doing this for last 15 years of his life reminding everyone why he is called the ‘great wall of India’.
India’s most reliable batsman has covered a long path from a simple, young batsman in 1996 to a mature, solid batting mainstay of India in 2011. In the 15 year long career, he has captained the team India, has seen ups and downs of the team and has bettered his own game. Evolving his own style of playing with times has been the reason behind his successful career. Padma shri, Wisden player of the year, ICC player of the year and ICC Test player of the year, 3 man of the series and 11 man of the match in tests and 14 man of the matches in ODIs are a few awards that came during his career acknowledging his contributions to cricket. Dravid has more than 10000 runs in each format of the game.
A fascinating aspect of Dravid’s career has been his contributions to team’s victories. The list of Dravid’s 32 centuries show that whenever Rahul scored a century India either won or drew that match (except one match vs Zimbabwe back in 1998). No wonder West Indies captain Darren Sammy couldn’t sleep for one night after he dropped Dravid on 6 and Rahul capitalized on the chance to go on scoring a century in the last match in Jamaica.
Rahul Dravid’s 32 centuries
Score Vs Country Innings Venue Year Result          (for India)
148 South Africa 1st Johannesburg 1997 Draw
118 Zimbabwe 2nd Harare 1998 Loss
190 New Zealand 2nd Hamilton 1999 Draw
103* New Zealand 4th Hamilton 1999 Draw
107 Sri Lanka 1st Colombo 1999 Draw
144 New Zealand 3rd Chandigarh 1999 Draw
200* Zimbabwe 2nd Delhi 2000 Win
162 Zimbabwe 2nd Nagpur 2000 Win
180 Australia 3rd Kolkata 2001 Win
144* West Indies 2nd Guyana 2002 Draw
115 England 3rd Nottingham 2002 Draw
148 England 1st Leeds 2002 Win
217 England 2nd London 2002 Draw
100* West Indies 1st Bombay 2002 Win
222 New Zealand 1st Ahmadabad 2003 Draw
233 Australia 2nd Adelaide 2003 Win
270 Pakistan 2nd Rawalpindi 2004 Win
160 Bangladesh 1st Chittagong 2004 Win
110 Pakistan 1st Kolkata 2005 Win
135 Pakistan 3rd Kolkata 2005 Win
127 Pakistan 2nd Lahore 2006 Draw
103 Pakistan 2nd Faisalabad 2006 Draw
146 West Indies 1st St. Lucia 2006 Draw
129 Bangladesh 1st Mirpur 2007 Win
111 South Africa 2nd Chennai 2008 Draw
136 England 1st Chandigarh 2008 Draw
177 Sri Lanka 1st Ahmadabad 2009 Draw
144 Sri Lanka 1st Kanpur 2009 Win
111* Bangladesh 2nd Dhaka 2010 Win
104 New Zealand 1st Ahmadabad 2010 Draw
191 New Zealand 2nd Nagpur 2010 Win
112 West Indies 3rd Jamaica 2011 Win
Soft spoken and a true gentleman, Rahul Dravid has always made India proud with not just on-field performances but off-field decent behavior. Being 38, he may not play more than one and a half year, but he will always remain a legend of the game of cricket. His name will always be regarded synonymous to batting techniques. His domination over the bowlers will always be remembered with a feeling of awe.

Dravid provides a fascinating glimpse into his batting methods

S. Dinakar for The Hindu
Raina, particularly in the second innings, handled the short-ball well
Rahul Dravid lives in the ‘present moment' at the crease but has this precious ability to look deep into a contest.
This insightful batsman breaks the innings into compartments, wear downs the attack in the most demanding of conditions. Dravid can visualise an innings mentally, move into what professional sportsmen call the ‘zone.'
During his outstanding innings of 112 at Sabina Park, the steely batsman provided us a fascinating glimpse into his methods.
On a surface of variable bounce, he played with the full face of the willow when the ball was on a good length or pitched up.
He collected runs between extra cover and ‘straightish' mid-wicket with push-drives rather than full-fledged drives. Only when the bowler erred in line did he venture into those wristy flicks.
Seizing scoring chances
And he was quick to seize in on the scoring opportunities with horizontal bat strokes when the delivery was lacking in length; an important element of batting on such tracks.
There were occasions when he shortened his back-lift; this was again in keeping with the nature of the pitch. The erudite Dravid is someone who is always willing to make subtle technical adjustments.
Dravid was short of runs going into the second Test against England at Mohali in 2008. This was a phase when he was a tad vulnerable outside the off-stump.
The thoughtful Dravid adopted a different, two-eyed stance in the Test. While an open stance can limit a batsman's driving off the front foot on the off-side, the two-eyed stance allows him to have a clear look at deliveries on or outside the off-stump.
Dravid made a determined 136 in the Indian first innings. Once he rediscovered his batting rhythm, he reverted to his classical side-on stance.
Raina impresses
Suresh Raina is deeply influenced by Dravid's batsmanship. The left-hander impressed with his solid, focused ways in the Test.
Raina, particularly in the second innings when Fidel Edwards and Ravi Rampaul bent their backs, handled the short-ball well. Importantly, he did not take his eye off the sphere.
The same cannot be said of Virat Kohli whose feet movement froze when Edwards pounded him with some vicious, lifting deliveries. Word travels quickly in cricketing circles and Kohli is bound to be targeted in the coming days. Test cricket is a different ball game.
Creditably for someone who made a huge jump from domestic cricket to facing a charged-up Edwards at Sabina Park, Abhinav Mukund was not found wanting.
Mukund unruffled
The left-hander was sure about his off-stump and appeared comfortable off the back-foot which is an essential attribute at this level. Mukund was unruffled by the short-pitched deliveries.
Another debutant, Praveen Kumar, was buzzing. He moved the new and the old ball either way with a wristy, whippy action that made it difficult for the batsmen to pick the delivery at the point of release.
Praveen opened up the right-handers with his out-swing and shifted his line admirably to the southpaws.
Actually, skipper Dhoni deserves credit for switching Praveen's ends — he was brought on from the Michael Holding end — that resulted in the medium-pacer sending down the game-opening spell on day two. Dhoni's move enabled Praveen to bowl against the breeze that enhanced his out-swing.
And Ishant Sharma operated with speed, bounce and intensity. The tall Ishant, with his hit-the-deck methods, and the much shorter Praveen, with his deceptive movement in the air, form an interesting combination.
Praveen, however, got into serious problems for running on to the danger area. Skipper Dhoni explained, “That's one of the problems when you graduate from 10-over-bowling (in the ODIs) to Tests where a bowler has to be a lot more careful about such things.”
Harbhajan batted with typical spunk but should have attempted to spin the ball into the right-hander from at least half a foot outside the off-stump. Leg-spinner Amit Mishra impressed only in patches.
Harper's goof-ups
Umpire Daryl Harper had an ordinary game and at least four decisions went against India. But then, BCCI's opposition to UDRS is not without logic.
The Hawk Eye has its limitations. And if the Hot Spot technology — which is at the heart of the UDRS — is not available for all series, then the system makes little sense. In a level-playing international field, you cannot have Hot Spot for a series in England or Australia and not have the same for the contests in the West Indies or Sri Lanka.

Never underestimate great sportsmen

Peter Roebuck for Hindu
Rahul Dravid has struck a mighty blow for the old-timers. His hundred in the Caribbean served two purposes, putting his team in a powerful position and reminding all and sundry that batsmen are better judged from their performances than from their birth certificates.
Apparently his place had been in jeopardy. All sorts of gilded youngsters had emerged in the recent T20 campaign. One or two of them had even passed 50 a couple of times. In some eyes the veteran had become surplus to requirements. Never mind that T20 is a trifling matter besides Test cricket.
Dravid responded by constructing a resourceful and decisive hundred. With every deft shot thrust and every crafty parry he confirmed that there is life in this aged canine.
Dravid looks fit
Significantly he has not put on any weight, looks as fit as the proverbial fiddle. Bulging bellies slow down the feet and brain, and suggest that motivation is lacking. Yuvraj's prospects can be gleaned from his girth.
Dravid's hundred told another tale. Never underestimate great sportsmen. No matter how polite they may appear, they are fuelled by desire, driven by pride and sustained by skill. Don't expect them to go quietly into the night.
Yet, supposed veterans are often treated like second hand cars, thrown away as soon as a bright new model appears on the scene. Never mind the quality, feel the sheen.
It's the same in tennis. During the week a splendid Japanese woman of some 40 summers was pitted against Venus Williams, the older of the distinguished sisters. It might have been expected that the contest be portrayed as a fascinating tussle between two sophisticated and accomplished players.
Not a bit of it — the papers described it as the Zimmer frame match! Happily the veterans produced a wonderful exhibition of tennis and held a huge crowd in thrall.
At least these wily professionals can determine their own fate, for their place in the rankings. Subjectivity does not imprison them.
Katich unlucky
Simon Katich has enjoyed no such luck. Australia ditched him not because he cannot score runs but because he is 35. Apparently his lawyers told him that he had a cast iron case for wrongful dismissal but he desisted. Instead he vowed to keep captaining his State.
Ordinarily the dumping of a middle-aged opener from a losing team would have been accepted. The ensuing rumpus confirmed that confidence in the selectors and administrators has collapsed. Nor did Katich spare them at his press conference.
Not that seasoned campaigners can be allowed to overstay their welcome. Sentiment has no place in top class sport. Sanath Jayasuriya's recall to the Sri Lankan ODI team ignored his long slump in form. All the evidence indicates that he is past it. At best his selection was a step back, at worst it told of political interference — the sturdy left-hander is an MP in the governing party.
In this case, Jayasuriya's critics may have served him better than his allies. Reputations are better protected by going a little too early not considerably too late. Unlike Dravid, his game depends on eye and reflex, and they can quickly deteriorate.
Certainly youth ought to be cherished. Nothing is more thrilling than to see a brilliant young player rise to challenge the old masters. Indeed sport depends on the emergence of newcomers capable of exciting a new generation of followers.
Rory McIlroy's stunning victory at the US Open heralded the arrival of a genuinely gifted golfer. Just that it's not sensible to go gaga every time a gifted youngster impresses or glum every time an old timer has a bad spell.

But for Rahul Dravid, India could've been humiliated

Pradeep Magazine for HT
It is an age-old predicament every sportsman confronts in the twilight of his career. When does he choose the moment to give up his most cherished possession, something he has lived for and enjoyed doing the most? The greater the excellence achieved, the harder it is to give it up, to wake up one
day and convince oneself that "Enough, my mind and body need rest". You have to be a super achiever, a perfectionist to be given time and space to make your own judgment on when you feel your body and mind are not in sync and instead of chasing shadows, it is best to step aside.
All this is easier said than followed. For, who is to decide when the loss of form is permanent and not an aberration very common to sport. The older one grows, each failure gets magnified and questions are raised on ones ability to turn the clock back.
All these questions came to my mind while watching Rahul Dravid play an innings of great solidity and impregnable defence in adverse batting conditions.
Here was a man whose past year or so had passed in struggling to put up decent scores while appearing vulnerable against the bouncing, moving ball. His invaluable assets - focus and concentration - had deserted him and he appeared to be living on borrowed time.
High standards
I had a brief conversation with him after he returned from South Africa.
No, he was not thinking of retirement. He did not think he batted all that badly and was unlucky to get out to some very good balls. But that was not bothering him as much as the fact that he had to live up to the high standards of excellence he had set for himself.
And the obvious question whose answer lay within him was would he be able to play like he has done for most of his distinguished career?
Like all outstanding sportsmen, targets must have been set, and it is likely he would have told himself, "let me see how it goes', especially in England where he would be tested to the limit against the moving ball.
Like a seasoned pro
On the Sabina Park wicket, where the ball moved, bounced and spun treacherously, Dravid played like a seasoned pro who was loving every challenge thrown at him. Every other batsman on that wicket appeared clueless and uncertain of what lay next, except for the leaner, fitter Dravid.
He tackled the bouncing ball with soft wrists, ducked away when needed with ease, but cut and drove whenever given the opportunity with the assurance of a man on the top of his craft. India would have been embarrassed by this lowly-rated West Indian team but for Dravid's contribution.
Weak bench
It is obvious from what one has seen so far in this series that India's second line, the so-called bench strength, is not as strong as we would like to believe. Hence, the form of men like Dravid assumes even more significance if India have to protect their status as the best team in the world this year.

In Praise of Rahul Dravid

Written by: Will Davies
Original Article Link Here
Rahul Dravid once again proved his worth for Indian cricket this week, scoring a remarkable 32nd Test century for his country as many of his teammates floundered in the first of a three-match series in the Caribbean.
India beat the West Indies by 63 runs at Sabina Park in Kingston, Jamaica. It was a relatively comfortable victory courtesy of Dravid’s second-innings score of 112. India’s next top scorer in that innings was No.10 Amit Mishra, hardly in the team for his batting, who notched up 28 runs as the team stuttered to a total of 252.
Dravid celebrated his century the way he has gone about his 15-year career – in an understated, calm manner. The single he scored to bring up his 100 was ungainly, but it was enough and prompted his teammates in the pavilion to uniformly rise to applaud and show their respect for the 38-year old as he saluted them with his bat.

Dravid, known by fans as “The Wall,” is almost a dying breed in the modern world of cricket. As the sport becomes increasingly commercialized along with the irrepressible rush of shorter formats, in particular the Twenty20 Indian Premier League, the unassuming Dravid is most comfortable during Test matches, cutting a dash out on the wicket.
While other players have invented a whole new armoury of shots, like Virender Sehwag’s “Upar Cut” and Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s “Helicopter”, Dravid has followed a more patient, classical and elegant approach. He may have missed the cut for India’s World Cup-winning squad, but he still had the skills to court a buyer for the 2011 IPL, when he played for the Rajasthan Royals.
Test cricket is Dravid’s home though and he has excelled there, as his 32 centuries and 12,215 career runs prove. His performance this week in Jamaica helped him return to the top 20 in the Reliance International Cricket Council player rankings for Test batsmen.
In a statement Friday, the ICC said Dravid – who won the ICC Cricketer and Test Player of the Year awards in 2004 – had climbed nine places up the Test batting rankings to 20th position, his best spot since November 2010.
South Africa’s Jacques Kallis, another elder statesman of the sport, is the top-ranked Test batsman and Sachin Tendulkar is in second place.
Tendulkar will go down in history as India’s best player. Dravid doesn’t quite occupy the same stratosphere as the Little Master, but he certainly deserves to be recognized as one of the best batsmen India has ever produced.

Dravid: Give youngsters time

Original News Link
Veteran Rahul Dravid has come out in support of the young India batsmen who failed to live up the hype in India's 63-run win in the first Test against the West Indies.
Rahul Dravid's 112 in the second innings proved to be the platform for India's win but the youngsters, drafted in place of Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Sachin Tendulkar and Yuvraj Singh, failed to make their mark.
Dravid, however, said the youngsters need to be backed and given time to prove themselves.
India's middle order has been well served by Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman, but vacancies are going to open up sooner than later.
Dravid said youngsters look even better than the famous quartet in talent.
"We all needed time - we have been around for 15 years since we were given a bit of time and you can't expect performances straight away," Dravid said.
"To be fair to these guys, they have been performing brilliantly in ODIs and I believe Indian cricket is in good hands and these youngsters are going to perform much better than we did even."
India ended up with a comfortable win but there were moments in the match when India looked own and out and Dravid admitted the team will have to play much better in the coming days.
"We know we need to do better than we did in this Test. If we are honest we know there are areas we need to improve on, and hopefully we will get that right in Barbados. It has not been easy: a lot of guys have come off a flight two-three days before the Test and there's been no practice game. Hopefully this win is a good lead-up, and the guys will do better in the next game."

Rahul Dravid moves to top-20 Test Rankings

However, star batsman Rahul Dravid jumped nine places to return to the top 20 after his man-of-the-match performance in the first Test against West Indies at Kingston, Jamaica.
Dravid earned 45 rating points after scoring a match-saving innings of 112 in India's second innings.

Full Article 

Monday, June 6, 2011

One and One Eleven: Defeating the Loss


In Test cricket, we attribute a loss to 10 batsmen getting out twice, or getting out once at least in the 2nd innings of the game, while a win depends on a certain factors. So in simple terms, except the rare cases, a team can avoid defeat if the 10 pins don't fall (especially while fielding first – includes follow on). We have 11 batsmen in each team, so if we attribute equal percentage (figuratively as even the tail-enders have sometimes saved games), we come to a conclusion that each batsman holds 9% share in between losing and saving.

In 2001, Kolkata Test, an old saying turned true, which says 'ek aur ek gyarah', meaning one and one eleven or 1+1=11. As per the calculations, it was 9% share between saving and losing per batsman. Exactly 2 batsmen fought tooth and nail to try and save their 9%. It was only VVS in the 1st innings, but in the 2nd innings, Very Very Special – Wall partnership combined their 9 and 9 to make 99 and virtually saved the game, given mathematically 99 is nearly equal to 100. Including the matters of mind, heart, and confidence, the boost was clear enough that nobody could make 9 and 9 99 in the Australian innings.

Who says it's only a saying? Nine and nine is ninety-nine. One and one is eleven. And many such combinations.

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

♥ Dravid's Childhood Picture Collection ♥


















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