The end of an era: the era of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/R-Dravid-c2229
No matter how big they are, sooner or later they all fall, and this is exactly what has happened to the iconic Indian batsman http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Rahul-c83321 “The Wall” Dravid. The 39-year-old cricketer, who was the backbone of the Indian team during his cricketing days had to accept
the fact that age is not on his side and finally called it a quits on international cricket on March 9, 2012.
Dravid, who is considered as the most unselfish player, decided to hang up his boots when he thought that he is no longer viable for the Indian team and should make way for youngsters. With Dravid announcing his retirement, an era of cricket that nearly
lasted for 16 long years came to an end.
The 39-year-old’s decision was lauded by former players, who consider it an act of self righteousness. Many cricketers started to shower their praise on Dravid and deemed him irreplaceable.
Dravid first arrived at the International arena at the age of 23. The right-handers first ODI match was against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sri-Lanka-c758 during the Singer Cup in 1996. The Wall showed signs of nervousness in his debut match and got out after scoring just three runs.
However, the story was different when Dravid was handed the Test cap in a game against England. The Wall showed his true colours and played a pain staking innings of 95 runs that lasted a gruelling 363 minutes.
Dravid was in and out of India’s ODI team during his early years, as many believed that he is a one dimensional player.
The right-hander was not as naturally gifted, when it came to stroke playing, as some of the other players of his age such as http://www.senore.com/Cricket/SR-Tendulkar-c2556, but he had something which no one else had and this is a strong will and determination.
The defensive batsman was equally good against spin as he was against pacers. He hardly had any weakness in his batting and once he got set it was hard to get him out.
Dravid, who is as much respected off the field as on it, was well aware of his capabilities and played within his limits. He made use of his strengths and tormented opposition bowling attacks with his rock solid defence. The Indian team started to rely heavily
on Dravid and he never let them down. The batsman steered them out of trouble on numerous occasions and thus was given the title of “Mr Dependable”.
With the passage of time, Dravid became the mainstay of Indian batting. He used to play the anchor role while other batsman played around him.
Test cricket was Dravid’s speciality, though he was also quite effective in limited overs cricket. The right-hander is placed second in all time Test scorers, second only to Sachin Tendulkar.
From 164 Test matches, Dravid has amassed 13288 runs at an average of 52.31. He has also 36 Test centuries and 63 fifties to his name. In ODI’s, the right-hander has galloped to 10889 runs and his average is just a touch below 40.
Even though, the Wall may not feature in international games anymore but the world of cricket will never forget his legacy and his name will always be amongst the finest batsmen who have ever stepped on the cricket field.
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