Rahul Dravid The Great wall of Cricket, The real Gentle Man

Full name Rahul Sharad Dravid     

Dr. Rahul Dravid

Born January 11, 1973, Indore, Madhya Pradesh,

Brought up & Lives in Bangalore, Karnataka State

Major teams India, Scotland, Asia XI, Canterbury,ICC World XI, Karnataka, Kent, Marylebone Cricket Club,

Rajasthan Royals,

Royal Challengers Bangalore

Nickname The Wall

Playing role Top-order batsman

Batting style Right-hand bat

Bowling style Right-arm offbreak

Fielding position Occasional wicketkeeper

Education St. Joseph's Boys' High School, Bangalore

Spouse: Vijeta Pendharkar (m. 2003)

Children: Anvay Dravid, Samit Dravid

Awards: Padma Bhushan, Padma Shri, Wisden Cricketers of the Year, Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy, Arjuna Award for Cricket, Test Player of the Year

Profile: 

Rahul Dravid was probably one of the last classical Test match batsmen. His progress into the national side may have been steady and methodical rather than meteoric, but once there, Dravid established himself at the vanguard of a new, defiant generation that were no longer easybeats away from home. Armed with an orthodox technique drilled into him by Keki Tarapore, he became the cement that held the foundations firm while the flair players expressed themselves. Yet, for a man quickly stereotyped as one-paced and one-dimensional, he too could stroke the ball around when the mood struck him.

Never a natural athlete, he compensated with sheer hard work and powers of concentration that were almost yogic. At Adelaide in 2003, when India won a Test in Australia for the first time in a generation, he batted 835 minutes over two innings. A few months later, he was at the crease more than 12 hours for the 270 that clinched India's first series win in Pakistan. Initially seen as a liability in the one-day arena, he retooled his game over the years to become an adept middle-order finisher. The heaves and swipes didn't come naturally, but by the time the selectors eased him aside in early 2008, he had more than 10,000 runs to his name in the 50-over game. There had also been a lengthy phase where he donned the wicketkeeping gloves, helping the team to find a balance that was crucial in the run to the World Cup final in 2003.

However, it's his Test exploits that he will be most remembered for. After impressing in a Lord's debut where he was eclipsed by Sourav Ganguly, Dravid's breakthrough innings arrived at the Wanderers a few months later, against a South African attack accustomed to bullying visitors. A brief slump followed, but he emerged from that with perhaps one of the most famous supporting acts of all, to VVS Laxman in an Eden Gardens Test that rejuvenated Indian cricket. The half decade that followed was a golden one with the bat, as tours of England and Australia realized more than 600 runs.

A two-year stint as captain, following Ganguly's axing, was less successful, though he did lead the side to series victories in England and the West Indies for the first time in a generation. Just when it seemed his best was behind him, Dravid showed his class once again on the tour to England in 2011. In a series in which India were completely outplayed and none of their other batsmen scored more than 275 runs in the Tests, Dravid amassed 461, including three hundreds, two of them when opening the innings against a high-quality pace attack. However, that was followed by a poor series in Australia, which turned out to be his last, as he announced his retirement soon after returning to India.

Dravid's immense levels of concentration also came in handy when he was standing in the slips. Most of his catches were taken in that cordon as he overtook Mark Waugh to become the most successful slip catcher in history. 

by Dileep Premachandran

Batting and fielding averages

	Mat	Inns	NO	Runs	HS	Ave	BF	SR	100	50	4s	6s	Ct	St
Tests	164	286	32	13288	270	52.31	31258	42.51	36	63	1654	21	210	0
ODIs	344	318	40	10889	153	39.16	15284	71.24	12	83	950	42	196	14
T20Is	1	1	0	31	31	31.00	21	147.61	0	0	0	3	0	0
First-class	298	497	67	23794	270	55.33			68	117			353	1
List A	449	416	55	15271	153	42.30			21	112			233	17
Twenty20	109	101	7	2586	75*	27.51	2271	113.87	0	13	311	34	23	0

Bowling averages

	Mat	Inns	Balls	Runs	Wkts	BBI	BBM	Ave	Econ	SR	4w	5w	10
Tests	164	5	120	39	1	1/18	1/18	39.00	1.95	120.0	0	0	0
ODIs	344	8	186	170	4	2/43	2/43	42.50	5.48	46.5	0	0	0
T20Is	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
First-class	298		617	273	5	2/16		54.60	2.65	123.4		0	0
List A	449		477	421	4	2/43	2/43	105.25	5.29	119.2	0	0	0
Twenty20	109	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Career statistics

Test debut	England v India at Lord's, Jun 20-24, 1996 scorecard
Last Test	Australia v India at Adelaide, Jan 24-28, 2012 scorecard
Test statistics	- Statsguru Test analysis -  Player analysis menu/filter  Test match list  ---------------------------------  Batting career summary  Batting innings list  High scores  Batting series averages  ---------------------------------  Bowling career summary  Bowling innings list  Bowling match list  Best innings bowling  Best match bowling  Bowling series averages  ---------------------------------  Fielding career summary  Fielding innings list  Most catches in an innings  Fielding series statistics
ODI debut	India v Sri Lanka at Singapore, Apr 3, 1996 scorecard
Last ODI	England v India at Cardiff, Sep 16, 2011 scorecard
ODI statistics	- Statsguru ODI analysis -  Player analysis menu/filter  ODI match list  ---------------------------------  Batting career summary  Batting innings list  High scores  Batting series averages  ---------------------------------  Bowling career summary  Bowling innings list  Best innings bowling  Bowling series averages  ---------------------------------  Fielding career summary  Fielding innings list  Most dismissals in an innings  Fielding series statistics
Only T20I	England v India at Manchester, Aug 31, 2011 scorecard
T20I statistics	- Statsguru T20I analysis -  Player analysis menu/filter  T20I match list  ---------------------------------  Batting career summary  Batting innings list  ---------------------------------  Fielding career summary  Fielding innings list
First-class debut	1990/91
Last First-class	Australia v India at Adelaide, Jan 24-28, 2012 scorecard
List A debut	1992/93
Last List A	England v India at Cardiff, Sep 16, 2011 scorecard
Twenty20 debut	Karnataka v Gujarat at Mumbai (BS), Apr 17, 2007 scorecard
Last Twenty20	Mumbai Indians v Rajasthan Royals at Delhi, Oct 6, 2013 scorecard

Recent matches

Bat & Bowl	Team	Opposition	Ground	Match Date	Scorecard
1	Royals	v Mum Indians	Delhi	6 Oct 2013	T20
5	Royals	v Super Kings	Jaipur	4 Oct 2013	T20
10	Royals	v Otago	Jaipur	1 Oct 2013	T20
0	Royals	v Scorchers	Jaipur	29 Sep 2013	T20
31	Royals	v Lions	Jaipur	25 Sep 2013	T20
1	Royals	v Mum Indians	Jaipur	21 Sep 2013	T20
43	Royals	v Mum Indians	Kolkata	24 May 2013	T20
12	Royals	v Sunrisers	Delhi	22 May 2013	T20
25	Royals	v Sunrisers	Hyderabad (Deccan)	17 May 2013	T20
4	Royals	v Mum Indians	Mumbai	15 May 2013	T20

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