Dravid - Going the Ganguly way....

[coffee_rules]

Is his batting getting affected because of captaincy? If he fails in this series (as a captain), he will lose his captaincy. It looks like his batting is getting affected because of the pressures of captaincy. Worldcup and Eng - twin failures is hard to ignore. Besides, there are hawks in India, Indian media, waiting for him to fail. Here's wishing for him to do well as a batsmen in the second innings.......

[yoda]

too early to include eng in your list. i think he will have a mediocre series.

[Dhondy]

Nope, his decline set in long ago. I didn't like the way he got out against the Aussies at home and then against SA away, groping outside the off to the away seamer. That's become his Achilles heel. He had an immaculate sense of where his off stump was. That's gone now.

[gator]

i agree, he is on a decline... but the peak he enjoyed in 2002-2004 is difficult to achieve, so it is not fair to compare one against their own peak.... or it wouldnt be called a peak.... i challenge Pricky Ponting or Youhana to continue their peaks for another 2 yrs....

[coffee_rules]

Uh..oh! Never mind Dravid got an unplayable delivery yet agin...... Ball of the day - Jimmy's time: James Anderson was identified as the future of English pace bowling five years ago, but since then, others have left him several rungs behind on the ladder of success. With England's first-choice pace trio all missing through injury, this was his chance, and he seized it with impeccable swing bowling. The best moment? The nearly unplayable delivery that pitched on middle stump and shaped away to graze the edge of Rahul Dravid's bat.

[observer1]

he has always been susceptible to that ball just outside off - he needs to get about 20 runs under the belt before he begins leaving those balls alone.

[kabira]

well its because of excess ODI cricket. Dravid is seasoned pro and he will iron out any deficiency soon. He had similar problem in 1999 when he failed in series down under, he was out of form and was dropped to number 6, where he produced at 181..

[Gambit]

I think in this next inning he is going to play a few more strokes early on and get to a 20-30+ score from whereon he can relax and start to play like his usual self.

[HouMac]

When was the last time Dravid scored a Test century?

[coffee_rules]

His last century was in WI. (If you ignore the BD century just in the previous test). He failed in SA series.

[kumble_rocks]

Dravid - Going the Ganguly way.... Only if he feigns injury like Ganguly does so often!:haha:

[yoda]

Dravid - Going the Ganguly way.... Only if he feigns injury like Ganguly does so often!:haha:

or wins a test series with zero contribution from himself. :giggle:

[gs]

Or takes his shirt off on Lords balcony!:haha:

[kumble_rocks]

Or takes his shirt off on Lords balcony!:haha:

True ! Both have the same greek god physique !:haha:

[Bumper]

Comeon folks, too premature a call. Dravid is mentally the strongest in our team. His career as a batsman may have peaked already but he is still our best test batsman. I dont have the slightest of doubt in my mind that he will finish with a 50+ avg in this series. And dont go by how Dravid did in SA. SA has always been Indian batsmen's graveyard. Our best batsmen in that series didnt cross an avg of 35. Today the ball that got Dravid out, was the best ball of the day. If Dravid fails to hit a 50+ avg in this series, i'll give the OP's claim some consideration. Ever since Dravid became captain on a full time basis (since SL'05 series) he averages 53 filtered 18 32 4 1495 146 129 128* 53.39 4 9 1 4 100s, 9 50s. Hardly a 4 point dip from his career avg. When Dravid starts bashing the minnows consistently, fails against all big opponents, rides on his team mates performances, sits out a big game faking injury and sends a bakra as an opener to save his own career in the middle order, comparisons with Ganguly may be in order. Until then hold off on your speculations.

[Gaurav]

I want India to show rear guard action tomorrow. May Gangu, Dravid,Tendu + rest of the indian team take India to new heights!

[Predator_05]

Is his batting getting affected because of captaincy? If he fails in this series (as a captain), he will lose his captaincy.

Absolutely. This happens to EVERY captain - Dravid isn't going to be an exception. Especially as far as Indian captains are concerned, the dip in form is inevitable because the burden of captaincy takes it's toll. It's a little premature to create a thread like this right now, but i am 100% certain that he will go through one or two barren seasons. Will a dry run of form lead to him losing the captaincy ? I seriously doubt it. Who is going to replace him ? For the next two seasons, he has the job by default. If Sehwag is still around then, he might be the successor. Either him or Yuvraj. But for now, his position as captain is as safe as a vault at Fort Knox

[Gaurav]

Isko thoda sa rear guard sekha do :hysterical:

[Gambit]

I think in this next inning he is going to play a few more strokes early on and get to a 20-30+ score from whereon he can relax and start to play like his usual self.

Does anyone read the game better than I do? Dravid 8*(3)

[yoda]

Does anyone read the game better than I do? Dravid 8*(3)

Taufel out-did you though. :giggle: