Rahul Dravid is on 199....here comes Stuart Macgill,bowls a wide halfvolley that kisses the HERO HONDA willow and the next moment,it is beyond the boundary line and Dravid lifts his bat high in the air with an expression that says "This is good but not that good enough,still a lot of work needs to be done".Dravid gets out on 233,the last man out,then the highest score by an Indian in Australia and a few sessions later hits the winning runs and kisses the cap as his 72* in the second innings along with Ajit Agarkar's brilliant outburst in the 2nd innings and Laxman's brilliant 148&32 wins the match at Adelaide for India and takes the lead in the series down under 1-0. That knock would prove to be the defining knock in that series and his consistency would rightly earn him the coveted Man of the Series award.Steve Waugh,one of the greatest captains of all time would retire at the end of the series and would pick Rahul Dravid to write the foreword for his best-selling autobiography "Out of my Comfort Zone".
7 years have passed since then,a lot has changed.Dada and Kumble have retired,India has become the No.1 Test side,Sehwag and Gambhir have replaced Hayden and Langer as the most explosive opening combination in the world;Australia has just been thrashed 3-1 by England in their own den and thus ultimately crushing every hope of an Australian resurgence and most importantly people's failing hope on THE WALL or I should rather say failing interest.
For a moment,let us imagine a situation like this:-India is yet to be blessed with Sachin Tendulkar and therefore no records,Sehwag is not yet born,Laxman has never played a magical innnings in the 2nd innings,Ganguly did not steal our hearts away with his grit and sweet sixes, T20 is yet to show its entertaining face which means that India's star batsman is the one and only Rahul Dravid but unfortunately for him,he was present when all of this happened/were happening.
This only meant that no matter whether he scored a century in the 2nd innings to save India from a demoralising defeat,the crowd always cherished the century by a Sehwag/Sachin in the 1st innings and if Dravid happened to score a brilliant 1st innings century on a devilish green patch,the crowd would love to forget his and always remember Laxman's innings in the 2nd.
Poor man he is,how I wish he played in the Gavaskar era,he would have certainly been remembered as India's most prolific batsman in the middle order(even now he is but then the Gavaskar era was very different)...times have really changed in India and with it its beloved people too who are praying to GOD devoutly so that they can take a second to breathe(for that is how every Indian lives his life).
India as it stands today has governed respect in all fields today...thanks to the leadership of the late P.V.Narasimha Rao and his group of friends who embraced change enthusiastically and the world in turn was ready to serve India well....poverty still remains but then today more than any other day in the past,a middle class Indian living in one of those famous urban areas can get all his needs satisfied and desires fulfilled with the money he has.On the other side,India looked for something to fall in love with apart from its love for cinema which could have been nothing else than cricket!!!
To fulfill this desire of the Indians,GOD incarnated in human form in the form of Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar on the day if we ironically put it,the day after Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru's 100th birthday(observed as Children's Day).This boy looked like he had just been fed milk with a feeding bottle and looked too small to hold a cricket bat that was half his size.Very soon after his arrival,every Indian had a TV and soon the magic weaved from his willow mesmerized every Indian.
By the time Dravid,Laxman and Ganguly made their debuts in 1996,the Indian loyalties rested with Sachin and deservedly so.1998 became the year when Sachin reached his status ultimatum-THE GOD OF CRICKET!!!Everyone in India loved him dearly and most of the elders whether they were Hindus/Muslims considered him as part of their families.
Slowly,the god given talents of the 1996 trio were also respected and admired.After 2001 home series against Australia,they too atleast got into the lips of every Indian's prayers but that was the most they could aspire for.
After the match fixing scandals took Indian cricket to its nadir,we started to pursue the zenith of achievements under the leadership of Dada.One man revolutionised himself and came to be the backbone of Team India.....it was during this period did Dravid earn the nicknames Mr.Consistency/THE WALL and obviously the latter was more famous.
Somehow Dravid's nickname suited him perfectly for he epitomised the perfection that Englishmen always sought to achieve in their invented sport but only a few could and just like them(the likes of Hobbs/Hutton/Boycott),Dravid got a nickname that sounded dour but was effective to the kind of temperament and character that he showed on the field.At last we have found a man who played the game in exactly the same manner in which the inventors of the game had envisioned.His textbook shots took everyone by surprise.His grit and determination shown to the game he loved so endearingly was effective in making India one of the superpowers of the game.
Match after match,knock after knock....he only bettered himself with an unwavering mind focused on a single thought as to how he could play an effective part in India's rise and the beckoning of a new era.There were not 1,not 2 but innumerable knocks that made India a strong side.
Everything was alright till 2007 when India welcomed entertainment to ruin the gentleman's game...something that suited the elementary tastes of the masses.The Indian youth were no longer going to movies because they had stories but had become perverted to see a few item numbers by some obscurely famous ladies who became rich when their clothes became poor and the same got carried over to T20 matches too.
We had lost the patience to see Test Cricket,lost the eagerness to be patient and see Dravid wear away the bowling attacks,take the precious little ones and twos as the opposing captains ran out of ideas.Dravid's form too had run parallel to the downfall in the youth's interest in India and almost everyone in India does not want to see him make runs in Test cricket even though we realise how desperately Team India needs him.
He does not complain,does not raise his voice to make our gullible mouths shut...but when he gets out after one of those beautiful knocks that you will ever get to see in test cricket by attempting to go for a six and then being caught just yards away from the boundary line at 191,he mumbles to himself in anger as to why he had not stayed for one more session and see India make a better total.....wow,WHAT A MAN!!!
Tomorrow,in some corner of the world,Rahul Dravid will be greeted/called by his present/former team mates on his 38th birthday and he will be praying to the ALMIGHTY above as to how he wishes to see INDIA lift the CUP OF GLORY for the 2nd time even though he is not even there in the list of probables...how he wishes to see himself playing some crucial knocks to make India sustain it's ranking in the TESTS.I am sure he would pray at least for the former fervently from the bottom of his heart and we Indians will not care to remember him on his birthday even if we happen to remember some cricketer's birthday like Virat Kohli even though Kohli is yet to make his debut in tests and has scored just 1/10th of what Dravid has scored in the one-dayers,shame on all of us!!!
Let me remind all of you people,we may get a talent like Sachin/Sehwag/Laxman but we shall certainly not get another man as determined as DRAVID which I think will be recognised only after he retires and that may be anytime soon!!!THE WALL had already crumbled down in our hearts but make sure that THE WALL does not fade away from our memories-
dedicated by a hardcore SACHIN fan who realises the fact that if my idol were not present THE WALL would have certainly earned the tag as INDIA's MOST PROLIFIC BATSMAN EVER!!!
Will certainly miss your presence....am just praying that you play for one more YEAR, which I am certain from the bottom of my heart that YOU WILL!!!
A true TEAM MAN!
ReplyDeleteKeeps wickets,has changed his batting position to accommodate team needs. A great strokemaker.
He performs when the team needs him and that s how the name WALL has found this great cricketer.
Magical defense and penetrating strokes make him one of the hardest batsmen in test cricket to bowl to. Rahul at his peak is a nightmare to any bowler. You cant get him out!! He stays put at one end
last 3 yrs hav not been good. I d pick the vengsarkar incident as the trigger point for the slide. We have since then been seeing a subdued WALL.
But he s played the most important role in building team India & will always be the greatest Indian batsman to me.
A true Cricketer. I only hope he gets a great sendoff like the one steve waugh got.
This man deserves it.
What a read! I, for one always rank Dravid as the best Indian Batsman but for Sachin Tendulkar! Beautifully put down, I still remember the 233* and the second innings winning runs. He also did some wicketkeeping for us to accomodate an extra bowler or a batsman! His achievements are aplenty and he will always be remembered.
ReplyDeleteCommented upon by a once upon a time cricket fan who cherishes the memories of Dravid, Sachin, Ganguly and the seniors numerous knocks! :)
Sriram
T-20 might have increased the count of people watching the game, but then have certainly brought down the quality, a cricket follower should possess! Apart from team management and few people like us, Dravid is long forgotten. As Harsha Bhogle rightly pointed out in one of his articles after the first test in South africa "Indians have silently forgotten couple of things - Due preparations for South africa test matches and not celebrating Rahul 12000 runs". For Rahul, his single minded focus towards excellence made him to brush aside the critics throughout his cricketing career. A Great player and a good human being. His services would be required as we are facing England in England, West indies in west indies and Aussie in Aussie as our next test match schedules. Rahul knows it better and there is nobody else who can make him fade away. He has a job at hand and he is gearing up for it.
ReplyDeletePrashy.
Wonderfully written! Adelaide test match will forever be remembered. I also recall one among his many Superhuman efforts for India - 217 against England at Oval, 2002. I still remember the commentator telling that the only way to send Rahul back to the hut was getting him Run-Out and eventually that's how he got out. That was too good a test innings under 'testing' conditions and you know how English Conditions are. A Man who preferred to be within his own shell, has truly epitomised that sheer hard work, determination, tenacity and the quality of being gutsy will surely make one reach greater heights. He's a Perfect Role-model for all youngsters. In the modern era, its hard to find such a technically correct batsmen. IF DRAVID happens to read your post and our comments, I'm sure Rahul is a kind of individual who will really feel uncomfortable being drenched as we all have showered praises on him for which he is a due recipient. Such a humble man who stays away from limelight.
ReplyDeleteYes, We all know he is a Great Batsmen and adding to that he offered a lot to the team. A Brilliant Slip Fielder, not to forget that. His record speaks volumes about his safe pair of hands. He selflessly took up gloves in order to provide greater versatility to the playing XI and still remained consistent with the bat. He has got very good cricketing brain also. One Disastrous World Cup Campaign signaled the end of his reign at the helm and IPL Season I did not the see the best of him. I strongly agree with Adithya and Prashy wrt send off which he highly deserves. And I also came across that Harsha's article., pity that his achievements still remain unsung rather sung less. To sum it up, he is a LIVING LEGEND.
He has still got a lot to offer to our nation, be it in the form of runs which he always does or in (m)any other ways....He will truly be regarded as one of the BEST the World Cricket has ever seen.
@ Ashwin:-Thank you friend for your comments and yeah...especially for mentioning the fact of his slip-fielding...one of the best of all-time and certainly the best India has ever produced,let us hope and pray that he may enthrall us for some more time...AAAL IZZZ WELL!!!
ReplyDelete@ Ashwin:-well that 217 is certainly one of my favorite knocks of Dravid that ended tragically because of Ajay Ratra's(one of India's multiple wicket keepers during that time)foolishness and Dravid left without a fuss....that spoke volumes of his character!!!
ReplyDeleteKiran, I forgot to mention the fact that it was well written blog. I like the way you bring in some analogy and cover some other fields of interest, which keeps the readers fully involved and never makes one feel bored. A Bit lengthy, but then Rahul Dravid deserves one as we would have lot to pen down. Keep it coming brother, as I thoroughly admire your writing skills and you have the knack of presenting it as a good package.
ReplyDelete