Rahul Dravid: India's Perpetual Go To Man

If Indian cricket were a school, Dravid is the front bencher who'd raise his hands for everything the teacher asks the class. Still, he would be shadowed by the brighter, smarter, cheekier others. Since he made his ODI debut in Singapore in 1996 and test debut at Lord's in the same year, many questions have been asked of him, which he in his calm demeanour, has answered with a straight bat.

He was, in his initial years in international cricket, dubbed as a test specialist. He couldn't find gaps, couldn't get the quick singles, failed to up the ante when required and didn't have the all round ability to hold his spot in the team. Thus he was dropped for other options, who too didn't do well enough to keep Dravid out for long. The 1999 World Cup was his watershed moment in ODIs. He was the leading run getter in the tournament with a whopping 461 runs, even though India didn't get to the semi finals. His spectacular stand of 318 against Sri Lanka at Taunton with Ganguly is now more famous for the latter's 183. But, not many would remember it was Dravid who started attacking the Lankan spinners. Most memorable is his six over covers off Muralitharan.

He fell off the selectors' radar yet again in 2001 after a string of poor scores in ODIs. In 2002, the then captain, Sourav Ganguly bestowed faith in him and entrusted in him the task of keeping wickets for the team. This was to be a big challenge for Dravid. He was to bat at no. 5, shepherd the youngsters and the tail and keep wickets for 50 overs. A task he did remarkably well. If in school, Dravid would've been asked to prove his all round worth, even though he's terrific at the one thing he did.

His worth became that of an all rounder in the team. The first series he performed this role in was the historic NatWest Trophy in England in 2002 which India won by 2 wickets. He would continue this role till India found a replacement in Parthiv Patel in 2004.

Dravid performed the role of a vice captain under the astute leadership of Ganguly from 2000 to 2005 and lead the team in the captain's absence. Ganguly's personal form began to falter and the mantle of captaincy fell on Dravid amidst controversial circumstances. It was rumoured, Ganguly was ousted due to his closeness with the coach Chappell. In school, he would've been accused of influencing the class teacher to be made the class monitor.

Under his leadership in Greg Chappell's term as coach, India did very well as a ODI side. Dravid's personal form with the bat was golden. Though the team's resentment towards the coach was visible, it spurred on field only in the 2007 World Cup. India crashed out of the tournament in the league stages. Team's differences with the coach surfaced. Dravid soon resigned as captain and soon found himself out of the ODI team for younger, fresher faces. By now, he had scored over 10000 runs in both forms of the game and had guided youngsters like Yuvraj, Kaif, Raina, had record aggregate partnerships with Tendulkar & Ganguly and made a name for himself amongst the legends of the game. All this while, he continued to be the backbone of the Indian test outfit with the nickname 'The Wall'.

Dhoni was made the ODI captain and Kumble the test captain. In a move, many thought was stupid, he was brought back into the ODI team in 2009 for the tri nation cup in Sri Lanka and Champions Trophy in South Africa. India won the former and crashed out in the latter which again resulted in Dravid being dropped.

Just when all seemed rosy for the class, Dravid is roped in to make a difference and he doesn't do too badly in the chances given. He again is subdued for a new face. Frustration for which he never showed on his game. He continued to do his best in every opportunity he got. Played enterprisingly in his IPL franchise, Royal Challengers Bangalore's march to the finals in 2009.

Yet again, after India's debacle of a test series in England following the highs of the World Cup win (which Dravid wasn't a part of, not even the probables), Dravid was included in the ODI side, seriously injury ravaged and short on confidence. Dravid, by then, had had enough of this see-saw'ing'. He swiftly accepted his inclusion and announced this as his last limited overs series. His action implied he didn't anymore want to be someone whom selectors could toy around with.

One can confidently say he has a lot more to offer to the Indian test side. His three centuries against England in a series no other Indian could manage a three digit score stands proof for that.

An article on Cricinfo talking about Dravid's career and retirement summed it up in it's headline which read, "The misfit who thrived". He thrived and how! Many a young Indian cricketer and youth would find Dravid as the perfect role model. He is probably the epitome of soft spokenness, selflessness and calm demeanour displayed while playing for a cricket crazy nation like ours.

Dhoni's India Rewrites History - We Are World Champions

Euphoria. Delight. Excitement. Thrill. Tears of joy. Contentment. Sense of achievement.

It was all there on the 2nd of April at the Wankhede. India defeated Sri Lanka in the most keenly contested World Cup finals since 1996. India had done the impossible, by defeating Australia and Pakistan in back to back knock out game in the quarters and semis only to fix a date with the sublime Sri Lankans in the finals. Sri Lanka had clinically dismantled both England and New Zealand in their knock out games coming in to the finals.

There wasn't much to choose from between the two teams in terms of line ups. Both teams were fielding legends on the brink of retirement. Both teams also had supremely talented wicket keeper captains in Dhoni and Sangakkara.  Hard not to bring the 1996 semi finals into focus which India lost in Calcutta after Sri Lankan spinners made a mockery of our middle order. Unpleasant scenes followed, crowds aiming missiles on Lankans, Vinod Kambli crying in the open. None of that was to be this time at the Wankhede. 

Presidents from both nations were in attendance to witness the spectacle. After the fiasco at the toss, Indians were put to field by Sangakkara. Zaheer bowled an excellent opening spell to the circumspect Lankan openers. Wickets stemmed the flow of runs. Jayawardena chose the biggest occasion to make a strong statement, he scored a fabulous 103*. Powerful surge in the slog gave Sri Lanka a confident 274 to defend. Malinga got both Sehwag and Tendulkar in his first spell. The crowd was shunned into silence. But Gambhir, Kohli put up a workmanlike stand to deny Lanka any more success on the trot. After Kohli's dismissal to a profanity spewing Dilshan, Dhoni joined Gambhir in what would now be called one of the moves that is going to be talked about for years to come. Both put on a fine 109 run partnership to almost shut the Islanders from the game. When Dhoni launched Kulasekara's second ball of the penultimate over for a huge six through long on, India couldnt have lost the game. 

The moment was savoured by Dhoni. His eyes set on the ball till it landed in the crowd. The celebrations began. Dhoni did a small jig, collected a stump as souvenir and hugged Yuvraj. Youngsters in the team streamed in to the playing area and huddled Yuvraj and Dhoni. The crowd had gone beserk so had all of India. Crackers went off at the Wankhede and the rest of India. It was Diwali all over again. There were no disagreements here, India was one. Everyone flooded the streets and the ecstasy was evident. Youngsters carried Tendulkar on their shoulders and did a lap of honour. Kohli played a crucial role with his fine 35 in the finals but what he said after the match is what is going to stay in people's minds. Every member acknowledged that the victory was a tribute to Tendulkar. 

Indian cricket team had won the World Cup and so had their 1 billion + fans world over. India had well avenged the 1996 debacle with the Championship win over the same opposition. Every time India takes field in the next four years, they will do so with the tag of World Champions attached. 28 years later India attained that glory. Special mention of valuable contributions made by Ganguly, Dravid, Kumble, Laxman and the coach courageous Gary Kirsten towards instilling confidence in this team. 

Indian Cricket since 1996 - Part 2

World Cup 1999 to World Cup 2003 eve

Pepsi World Cup 1999 in England

India headed for the World Cup with a good team and an experienced captain in Azharuddin. India began its campaign unsuccessfully with a defeat against South Africa, but hit a great low by losing to Zimbabwe in the next game falling prey to some extremely indisciplined bowling, terrible running between the wickets and Tendulkar’s absence from the team. This defeat made the next three group games must win for India. And they did just that. Ganguly & Dravid put up big hundreds to amass a score of 373 for 6 against Sri Lanka. In the super sixes, India faced eventual winners, Australia and lost convincingly despite a fighting hundred by Jadeja and a desperate partnership with Robin Singh. India faced Pakistan in the most awaited clash of the World Cup at a time when the two countries were engaged in a war back home. It was touted to be a high adrenaline match with tempers flaring. But it wasn’t to be, India trounced Pakistan in a relatively low scoring match where Indian bowlers came up trumps. India’s semi final hopes were dashed even before they played their last super six game against New Zealand owing to some funny calculation system adopted by ICC. India lost the match against New Zealand, and thus ended their campaign, where though lot was promised, not much was delivered. Dravid, Ganguly & Srinath were India’s stars from the World Cup. Dravid remained the highest scorers of the tournament.

1999

The unsuccessful World Cup campaign was dealt with severely by the BCCI and Azharuddin was sacked as captain & dropped from the team and Tendulkar was reinstated. Robin Singh was overlooked for he was the oldest member of the team at 36 and selectors looked at nurturing younger talent. India toured Sri Lanka for a tri series involving Australia. Indians played below par in the series and didn’t reach the finals despite Tendulkar’s century in severe back pain in a crucial match. Their next campaign was the Singapore Challenge against Zimbabwe & West Indies. India was crushed by Ricardo Powell who carted bowlers to all corners of the ground in the finals and we eventually lost.  Next up India won the DMC Cup, 2-1, played against West Indies at Toronto as Indian government refused to allow the team to play Pakistan even in a neutral venue due to political tensions. The team here was lead by Ganguly in Tendulkar and Jadeja’s absence. Ajay Jadeja was at the helm for the LG Cup held in Nairobi. India played the round robin games like real champions with unknown faces like Sunil Joshi and Vijay Bharadwaj making valuable contributions. But it was in the finals that India realised how inept we were at handling pressure.

After a more or less disappointing ODI season, India faced New Zealand at home in a three match test series. India won the series 1-0 on perfect featherbeds and dust bowls. The series would only be remembered for Tendulkar's first double century in the second test at Ahmedabad. In the ODI series that followed, India defeated New Zealand 3-2 in games most of which were high scoring. Tendulkar came up with his highest ODI score, 186* and India posted it highest ODI total 376.

This was followed by one of the most disappointing tours India has even been on, the tour down under. India’s morale wasn’t helped by the then secretary of BCCI predicting a 3-0 whitewash. It came true though. Australia blanked India 3-0 in the test series. Indians weren’t allowed to dominate a single session of play in the entire duration of the series. The only high points for India from the series were Tendulkar superb century at Melbourne, Laxman stunning 167 in an attempt to save the Sydney test and of course Tendulkar being adjudged Man of the Series despite his team’s loss. The test series loss affected the psyche of the players and the ODI series involving the hosts and Pakistan was no different. India only managed one win in the 8 matches they played in the series.

2000

South Africa toured India with a strong resolve to avenge their defeat in 1996. Hansie Cronje had put together a strong team, with a terrific batting line up and an equally strong bowling attack. India, for the first time in 13 years lost a home test series. South Africa defeated India 2-0. India had Tendulkar and Azharuddin scoring hundreds, but for South Africa it was their bowling which never let Indians dominate. Allan Donald was at his best, supported by Shaun Pollock and Nicky Boje. In the ODIs that followed India defeated South Africa 3-2 in the five match series. Sachin Tendulkar informed the BCCI that he would like to step down as the captain after the ODI series following two series defeats. The decision was shocking, but seemed to be in the best interest of the team as India really needed him as a batsman. Sourav Ganguly was soon handed over the mantle of captaincy of the Indian cricket team. His first two assignment as a captain were forgettable. The Coca Cola Cup at Sharjah against Pakistan and South Africa and the Asia Cup in Sharjah. India failed to reach the final in both and managed two wins both put together.

All was well with the world of cricket till Hansie Cronje decided to make a confession, a confession that was going to rock Cricket and scar the game.  Cronje, the maverick South African captain, pleaded guilty of accepting money to underperform. Not once, not twice, but on a number of times. This was going to open a can of worms. He would himself be banned for life by the CSA and his co-offenders Herschelle Gibbs, Henry Williams were handed suspensions. But for India, the can of worms was hurtful. Mohammed Azharuddin, one of the most respected figures in Cricket was banned for life for alleged involvement in the match fixing scandal, so were Ajay Sharma, former India cricketer and a Delhi Ranji player and Manoj Prabhakar. Five year suspensions were handed to current Indian cricketers Ajay Jadeja for alleged closeness with one of the bookies and Nayan Mongia who along with Prabhakar were accused to throwing a match against West Indies in 1994 by purposely batting slow. Indian Cricket stood jolted by two of their cult cricketers being suspended, one for lifetime and the other for 5 years.

With the appointment of former Kiwi opener John Wright and having got some time off the game to put behind the events that unfolded, India looked for some change of fortunes in the ICC Knockout Trophy in Nairobi, Kenya. India wasn’t rated too highly and weren’t expected do too well. India brushed aside Kenya to set a date with Australia in the quarterfinals. A match that will be remembered for Tendulkar sledging McGrath and charging down the track to hit him over long off. A mini collapse saw debutant Yuvraj Singh battling a lone battle. He scored a magnificent 84 off 81 balls as India toppled top ranked Aussies. Zaheer produced a peach of an inswinging yorker to see off Steve Waugh. Thus two warriors who would take India to the next generation were born. India defeated South Africa in the semi finals in  a clinical performance and met New Zealand in the finals. New Zealand had defeated the much favoured Pakistan in the semis and looked good as did India. India started confidently and looked to bat the Kiwis out of the game, but Chris Cairns had different ideas. He choked runs and Indian panicked. Lost wickets in a heap and could only manage a modest 264. Cairns again came to the Kiwi rescue and scored a brilliant hundred to break a million Indian hearts. India still took a lot of heart and positives from the tournament after coming back almost from the dead.

A disappointing three nation tournament in Sharjah against Sri Lanka & Zimbabwe followed. Indian batting hit rock bottom against Sri Lanka being dismissed for 54 on a senile Sharjah pitch. India also aided Muralitharan in getting his career best figures of 7/30 in one of the matches. India was one of the most vocal supporters of Bangadesh in getting their Test berth. Bangadesh also invited India to play the inaugural match in Dhaka. A workmanlike century by Captain Aminul Islam, a solid batting performance by Bangladesh & a fine all round effort by Sunil Joshi were the highlights of an otherwise dull game which India won by 9 wickets. India was then toured by Zimbabwe for two test and five one dayers. India won the first of two test and Zimbabwe managed to draw the second. Andy Flower was Zimbabwe hero scoring a mammoth 544 runs in two test matches that included a fantastic 232 not out at Nagpur. India thrashed Zimbabwe 4-1 in the one day series.

2001

India began preparing to host Australia for a three test match series. Australia had by then conquered everything they laid sight on. India was their “Last Frontier”. Indian batting looked strong but the bowling, feeble. Anil Kumble had been sidelined by a shoulder injury, and playing against Australia, India missed its frontline spinner. Harbhajan Singh who last played for India in 1999 was recalled into the team. The first test at Mumbai went as expected. Accurate Australian bowling had India in tatters in both innings and the visitors romped home by 10 wickets. Tendulkar, Harbhajan Singh and another test recall VVS Laxman were the only positives from the match. Before the second test at Kolkata, Indian selectors scrutinized spinning options from all over the country to support Harbhajan. Australia started the 2^nd test on the right note, scoring around 400 runs on the first day. A Harbhajan hat trick in the last hour of play on the 1^st day jolted the Aussie march but when India came on to bat, the Aussie scored looked Himalayan. Replying to Australia’s 448, India was skittled out of for a measly 174 and were expectedly asked to follow on. Ganguly, in one of the moves that makes him one of the best to have lead India ever, sent Laxman one drop instead of Dravid who seemed to struggle a bit. Laxman looked in ominous touch. He and Dravid put on a gargantuan partnership of 361 taking India to safety. Laxman scored a phenomenal 281 and was ably supported by Dravid who scored 180. Putting Australia into bat in the 2^nd half of 1^st session of play on the 5^th day chasing 260, India struck gold with picking wickets early and at regular intervals. Hayden was the only confident looking Aussie. Harbhajan snared another 6 wickets and Australia succumbed to defeat in what could be described as one of the best Test matches of recent times. India had well and truly snatched victory from the jaws of defeat. The third test at Chennai too was keenly competed. After a Hayden double century, a century by Tendulkar and another Harbhajan special with the ball, India were left to chase 126 on the final day. In the bid to score the runs quickly, India began to lose wickets in a heap. Harbhajan & Dighe displayed composure and took India to a fabulous 2 wicket win.  This series has gone down in the history of the game as one of the best competed.

India’s next assignment was a two test series in Zimbabwe followed by a tri series involving West Indies. India won the first test but on a bouncy, seaming track in the second test India lost the plot and the game. The series stood drawn 1-1 and India were embarrassed by the result. The ODI series was won by West Indies after defeating India in the finals. This was followed by a tough tour of Sri Lanka where India had to deal with total absence of Tendulkar owing to a back injury. The series saw the Indians play around with the batting order with only Ganguly remaining constant. This is also the series where Virender Sehwag emerged as an opener for India. His blazing 108 against New Zealand gave India a place in the finals they was eventually lost. The test series will be remembered for Muralitharan magic delivery to remove Indian opener Sadagopan Ramesh, bowling him with a delivery that pitched way down leg stump. After losing the first test convincingly, India pulled back the second at Kandy, but lost the third test by an innings. 

India’s tour of South Africa will be remembered for two major events. One, the debut of Virender Sehwag who scored a magnificent ton his first test alongside Tendulkar who scored blazing ton to take India to safety and two the Mike Denness issue where the match referee accused Indians of over appealing suspending Sehwag for a match and accusing Tendulkar of ball tampering in the  second test. The issue was blown out of proportion by the BCCI and ensured change of match referee in the 3^rd test. After losing the first test and drawing the second, India played South Africa in an unofficial third test for India refused to play the test when Sehwag’s suspension wasn’t revoked. The tri series involving the two teams and Kenya was won by South Africa. India reached its low point when they lost to Kenya in one of the league matches. The final between India and South Africa was a one sided affair where accurate bowling by the hosts had the Indian batting hopping on a placid track at Durban. South Africa won the series and left India with some thinking to do.

2002

England toured India with a team less than full strength. But lead by shrewd Nasser Hussain, it showed it didn’t lack character and will to fight. After losing the first test in Mohali, they drew the next two tests. Hussain got Giles to bowl outside the leg stump to Tendulkar to curtail his run and frustrate him. Giles did succeed in getting the maestro out stumped by persevering bowling the same line. The ODI series that followed was again well competed in by England. After conceding a lead of 3-1 to India, England came back to square the series, 3-3.

India toured West Indies in the summer of 2002 hoping to change fortunes from their previous Caribbean tour in 1997. First test was a drawn after fine performances by Chanderpaul & Hooper for West Indies and a fine hundred by Laxman for India after which rain took over. India won the second test at Port of Spain but lost the third. The 4th match was a high scoring draw. Anil Kumble's dedication towards the game was at the fore when he came on to bowl after a Merv Dillon delivery broke his jaw while batting. He not only bowled but picked the wicket of Brian Lara. The hosts wrapped up the series with a fine win in the fifth test. West Indies gave a terrific account of themselves with brilliant performances by Chanderpaul, Hooper & Dillon.

India's tour of England in late summer was monumental for reasons more than one. India won the Natwest Trophy triangular series and also drew the test series 1-1. The Natwest final win is considered amongst India's best till date. The way the two youngsters, Yuvraj & Kaif took India to the finishing line was remarkable. A win became a distant dream when the India was at 140 for 5 in 23 overs. Yuvraj, Ganguly & Tendulkar had a wonderful series with the bat. The Test series saw the rise of Indian batting line which after losing the first test at Lord's played exceedingly well in the next three to win the third test at Headingly by an innings and salvage a drawn series. Dravid was in sublime form with two centuries and Sehwag, Tendulkar, Ganguly & Agarkar chipped in with a century each.

The Champions Trophy of 2002 boosted India's confidence going into the 2003 World Cup. India played with great flair and excellent camaraderie and eased through Zimbabwe, England to meet South Africa in the semi finals. In a chase of 262, Proteas were easing at 194 for 1 when Gibbs retired hurt after scoring 116. The rest of the team fell like pack of cards to lose the game by 10 runs. India met Sri Lanka in two rain curtailed finals and the trophy was shared. India seemed to have found its combination for the World Cup.

India convincingly beat the touring West Indies 2-0 in the test series and the ODI series was looked at as an opportunity to tinker with the team composition. India tried out many combinations and in a high scoring series West Indies outran India 4-3. India, before the World Cup made a trip to New Zealand for a two test and seven ODI series. In typical seaming, bowler friendly wickets India lost to the hosts 2-0 in a low scoring test series and 5-2 in the ODI series. India bowling was flourishing but the batting seemed to have taken a battering with the exception of Sehwag who scored two centuries in the ODIs. Ganguly was apologetic with his team's performance. These pitches seemed to India like how spin minefields seem like to visiting tourists in India. He though had no reason to be too apologetic about. India had done exceedingly well over the last 12 months and one off series wouldnt affect their World Cup preparations much.

Sourav Ganguly over the last year and a half had done world a good for the Indian team. Test wins in West Indies and England, the Natwest Series win, shared trophy at the ICC Champions Trophy; he had proved to be one of the best captains in recent times. Not only that, the team respected him as a leader and he showed confidence in youngsters in the team. Yuvraj, Kaif, Dinesh Mongia, Zaheer, Nehra, Harbhajan, Parthiv Patel were all players who bloomed under his captaincy. He showed confidence in Rahul Dravid by bringing him back into the ODI team and made him wear the wicket keeping gloves so he could have the luxury of playing an extra batsman. India were well on their way towards a great World Cup campaign lead by Ganguly, under the guidance of coach John Wright.