Mar 09, 2012
“No Indian batsman will have Rahul Dravid as his batting partner at the other end anymore” Jigneshbhai said last weekend when we met for our coffee. It was indeed a sad day for Indian cricket, both Swami and I agreed, that we won’t be seeing Rahul Dravid in action anymore.
The nice guy who finished almost first, Rahul Dravid is truly one of the all-time greats to have played the game, I thought. His traditional cricket records are astounding. “13200+ runs at an average of 53 odd – ahead of everyone except Sachin Tendulkar, 36 Test hundreds, 210 Test catches, and for someone thought to be unfit for ODIs, he still is the 7th highest run getter in ODIs with over 10000 runs and 83 fifties.” Jigneshbhai read out from the sports section of the newspaper that was filled with Dravid tributes today. If one must learn how to retire, learn it from Dravid, one of them seemed to say.
“Predictably, he also holds the record for facing the highest number of deliveries by a Test Batsman over his career – some 31000+ balls.” Jigneshbhai further read out and then sad in a pensive mood, “Perhaps that is the ultimate record for a man who seemed to be always there at the other end for the team.”
Individual performance statistics on their own obviously demand that history will look at him as one of the all-time greats. But more important than that was the irreplaceable, intangible value that Dravid held for the Indian team. Like salt in every great dish, Dravid’s contribution in India’s great performances has been essential and vital but missed only when it is absent. The taste of the dish has always been attributed to the spice and the other ingredients.
Swami being the cricket fan who followed all the trivia came up with some astounding facts.
“When Sachin scored his previous highest ODI score of 186, he was involved in a 331-run stand with Dravid” Swami told us. “And when Sourav scored his highest ODI score of 183, guess who was at the other end? Dravid – with whom Sourav was involved in a 318-run stand”
Jigneshbhai and I had our eyes wide in appreciation. But Swami wasn’t done yet.
“We all know that when Laxman scored his highest Test score of 281, he had a 376-run partnership with Dravid who himself scored 180-odd. But do you remember that when Sehwag scored his triple centuries – both in Pakistan and South Africa – who was at the other end? Yours truly Rahul Dravid again. Sehwag shared 410 run and 268 run partnerships with Dravid during those triple hundreds”
Jigneshbhai and I were amazed at Swami’s memory but more so of what he remembered.
“Well, even when Sehwag scored 293, Dravid was at the other end in a 237-run partnership. In the eight 300+ partnerships in Tests and ODIs since 1999 by Indian batsmen, Dravid has been involved in five. Overall, he has been part of 88 century stands, 19 with Sachin (a record), 12 with Laxman, 10 each with Ganguly and Sehwag, and even 7 with Gambhir.”
Truly reflects the amazing contribution of the Wall in batsmanship in Indian cricket. Almost always at the other end playing his part when someone else shone the limelight. And happy to do so too.
Swami came up with more nuggets. Today was indeed an inspiring day.
“Till the last 4 hundreds he scored (3 of which came in losing causes against England in 2011), only one of his first 32 hundreds was in a Test that India lost. His average in India wins is 66+ against overall average of 53 odd.”
Jigneshbhai and I felt like hugging Swami for all these facts and figures. But he wasn’t done yet.
“Well, his contributions as a slip fielder are also a story of great partnerships. Dravid also had partnerships with Kumble and Harbhajan as a fielder. Caught Dravid bowled Kumble accounted for 55 catches, and Caught Dravid bowled Harbhajan accounted for 50 catches, out of his 210 record catches by a non-wicketkeeper.”
Phew! That was quite some list, some astounding numbers, some mind-boggling contributions.
There used to be a joke about the importance of the ‘control sample’ in Market Research, and how one could reach wrong conclusions if one did not employ a control sample to isolate causal factors. It said that a researcher had whiskey with soda, vodka with soda and rum with soda on three separate days and got inebriated on all three days after a few pegs. Later he published a thesis that it is not the drinks but the soda that causes the intoxication, because that was the only common factor.
In that case, the researcher was wrong. But in the case of Rahul Dravid and his partnerships, it is Dravid that has been the underlying, often unsung, factor in the intoxication caused by Indian batsmanship over the past 15 years. He has been the wind beneath the wings, holding ground while others take flight. No other Indian batsman will have the privilege and the luxury of having Dravid at the other end anymore. Someone else will have to hold that end now.
Take a bow, Rahul Dravid!
