Cricket India – Rahul Dravid the lone Warrior for Team India – Opinion
India has perhaps had their worst summer in England this year where not only did they lose their number one status in Test cricket, but also failed miserably against the hosts in the shorter versions of the game as they failed to grab a win in the only T20
match of the tour followed by a lacklustre performance in the five-match one-day series.
However, there was one Indian cricketer who stood out from the rest and this was the man they call the “Indian Wall” http://www.senore.com/Cricket/R-Dravid-c2229.
While stars like http://www.senore.com/Cricket/V-Sehwag-c2739 were struggling to cope against the rampant English bowlers, it was Dravid who set an example and showed the Indian batsmen just who easy it was to bat under the English conditions.
However, even with his presence in the team, the rest of the batting squad looked depleted and incapable of tackling the England bowlers which ultimately resulted in the disastrous outcome of the tour.
In the first Test at Lord’s when England had posted an emphatic score of 474 on the board, it was Dravid who stood defiant against the English bowlers while the batsmen around him kept falling like http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Gareth-Berg-c1457. The batsman left everyone awestruck as he
smashed 103 runs in India’s first innings while Tendulkar and http://www.senore.com/Cricket/VVS-Laxman-c2772 failed.
However, this performance by the middle-order batsman could not save the Indians from complete annihilation.
Then in the second Test at Trent Bridge he scored a hefty innings of 117 runs in the first innings and again this time the lower-middle-order was left in ruins.
Then after having a bad third Test, Dravid once against played a remarkable innings of 146 runs in the fourth Test at the Oval where the Indians again faced defeat by the hands of the flamboyant England.
It was heartbreaking for Indian fans to see Dravid’s efforts go to waste during the Test series; however, after the Tests it was now time for the Indians to be challenged in the quicker versions of the game.
Remarkably, Dravid was the third highest scorer in the only T20 match of the tour which was again lost by the Indians. The 38-year-old smashed 31 runs.
In the five-match one-day series, Dravid gave an average performance before the big one-day final of his career where he played a satisfactory farewell innings of 69 runs in the intense encounter where even after posting a mammoth tally of 304 runs the Indians
still lost the game as http://www.senore.com/Cricket/England-c56013 chased the total thanks to a blitz of an innings in the dying moments of the game by the newbie Jonny Bairstow.
It would have been nice for Dravid to have bid farewell to the 50-over game with his team winning the game, however, a fairytale end was just not in his luck.
The player will now represent India only in Test cricket which means that team India will have to find a new player with nerves of steel to steer the Indian middle-order.
The services of Dravid who made his debut for India in Apr 3, 1996 against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/India-c750 to look ahead and seek
fresh blood to carry the legacy of Indian greats in the game of cricket.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article do not represent Bettor.com’s editorial policy
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