Advance congratulations to Rahul Dravid

[Fontaine]

Dravid runs dry He was once the architect of some of India's finest wins; now he's in the middle of a lean patch that has lasted alarmingly long. November 5, 2008 Those who watched it reckoned they were in the presence of a master. One man harked back to a calypso written about Sunil Gavaskar more than three decades earlier. On a pitch where no other batsman really looked at ease, Rahul Dravid batted ten hours for innings of 81 and 68. Sabina Park had seen some great innings from legends like George Headley and Lawrence Rowe, but Dravid's twin salvo, which decided a Test match and series, was right up there with anything played by greats of the past. At the end of that game Dravid's average stood at an imposing 58.75 after 104 Tests. He wasn't merely accepted as one of India's batting trinity - Tendulkar and Gavaskar being the others - but recognised the world over as an all-time great. The runs had come on slow subcontinent pitches, bouncier ones in Australia, seaming tracks in England and challenging surfaces like those in South Africa. A few months later India went to the highveld. Though he played a crucial little cameo at the Wanderers, Dravid finished with 125 runs for the series. A temporary blip, you thought. There was a century in Bangladesh, but the fallow run continued in England. He got a start on an Oval flatbed, but uncharacteristically threw it away after getting to 50. When that failure was followed by a moderate series against a poor Pakistan side, the whispers started to gather some momentum. When he abdicated from the captaincy after the England tour, there was obviously more focus on his batting. And apart from a sterling innings of 93 that was instrumental in the Indian victory at the WACA last January, the scrutinising eyes found plenty of faults. He had never been the sort of player to get the scoreboard racing, but the first few innings in Australia were tortuous affairs, when even middling the ball off the square appeared an ordeal. Perth wasn't to herald a renaissance. There was a century against South Africa in Chennai, but the pitch was so placid that even a Ranji Trophy journeyman might have fancied his chances on it. The rest of the series was again a tribulation, with starts squandered and atypical dismissals. A few months later, in Sri Lanka, he was put through the wringer by the freakishly talented Ajantha Mendis. Only a last-innings 68 salvaged anything from the wreckage of an abysmal series. The numbers tell you clearly enough what's been going wrong. In 41 completed innings over the past two years, Dravid has been dismissed 21 times before getting to 20. Eight of those dismissals have been bowled or leg-before. Some were terrific deliveries, but more often than not hesitant footwork was to blame. Most batsmen are vulnerable early in an innings, though in Dravid's case the crisis went deeper. Even when he got starts, he couldn't carry on. In those 41 innings, there have been just seven fifties to go with the two hundreds. Contrast that with 69 scores of over 50 in 154 knocks prior to that, and you can see why the concerns are justified. "There's no secret to it," says Dravid himself. "I have to go out and score big runs again. There's no getting away from that." Some would say he's been given a long enough rope. In those last 24 Tests, a significant number, he averages just 32.04, far lower than what others in the middle order have managed. Once the man you'd bet your house on, he's now seen as the most likely to go the Lehman Brothers way. Headline-writers these days can make a decent living from variations on "The Wall is Crumbling." The lapses in concentration are just as worrying as the mediocre numbers. In the current series he has been out playing on twice. In the second innings in Bangalore, he clipped a half-volley to Ricky Ponting at short midwicket, and the first-innings stint in Delhi was ended when he chased a fairly wide delivery from Mitchell Johnson. On the surface he appears more relaxed than he did in Australia and Sri Lanka, but the mistakes continue to creep into what was once a hermetically sealed game. He says he no longer worries or obsesses about his batting as he once did, but with Indian cricket going through a season of change, it's natural that the spotlight shines ever brighter on his failings. For more than a decade Dravid was India's best batsman after Tendulkar, but after two years of underwhelming performances, the wellspring of goodwill and patience is slowly running dry. With just 117 runs in the series, another failure will increase the calls for someone like Rohit Sharma to come into the squad. For the moment, though, Dravid can ill afford to think of such matters. The dependable legend of 2006 is now a faltering veteran. If he needs any inspiration he can just look across at the opposition dressing room. Since a slump that left his place in jeopardy heading into The Oval Test of 2005, Matthew Hayden has scored ten centuries from 26 games. Last week in Delhi, a couple of days after his 37th birthday, he showed that he had no intention of fading away quietly. Dravid, the architect of India's most memorable Test victories, must compose a similar autumn sonata. Otherwise the team that takes the field in Karachi in the new year will look vastly different from that which took Indian cricket to unprecedented heights in the new millennium. After 128 Tests and 12 seasons, it would be a real pity if it ended with glib lines about walls coming tumbling down. Dileep Premachandran is an associate editor at Cricinfo © Cricinfo

You fail Dileep. It's no good piling on the bandwagon and criticizing Dravid now then he gets a duck. Where were you a series ago when all of this was on the cards. I hate obvious articles like this one that serve no purpose but to further kick a man when he's down. Shame on you Dileep Premachandran. A much more substantial and interesting article would have been on tracking the historical tendencies of batsmen around Dravid's age and experience and charting which have been able to come back into form and how many have failed. Then explored the means and options open to Dravid at the moment. All this nonsense is just looking up a bunch of stats and putting words around them. How lazy.

[cochise]

Unfortunately, Dravids bad run has been extended and even the press buffoons have had to sit up and take notice. I feel for Rahul. Poor chap...what yeoman service he has rendered to India over the years. But it looks like his time is actually running out.

[SachDan]

You fail Dileep. It's no good piling on the bandwagon and criticizing Dravid now then he gets a duck. Where were you a series ago when all of this was on the cards. I hate obvious articles like this one that serve no purpose but to further kick a man when he's down. Shame on you Dileep Premachandran. A much more substantial and interesting article would have been on tracking the historical tendencies of batsmen around Dravid's age and experience and charting which have been able to come back into form and how many have failed. Then explored the means and options open to Dravid at the moment. All this nonsense is just looking up a bunch of stats and putting words around them. How lazy.

Fontaine, this artcle first appeared on cricinfo yesterday !! look at the date.

[Fontaine]

Fontaine' date=' this artcle first appeared on cricinfo yesterday !! look at the date.[/quote'] Regardless my point is still valid. Avid cricket fans around the world knew of Dravid's plight even before the Sri Lanka series. This article reveals nothing new, explores the causes or reasons, but pure and simple is just words around a bunch of stats a 10 year old could have looked up. To top it all, it's simply kicking a man who's already down and serves no purpose other than to fill a quota of articles the guy has to submit. There are posters here who have been far more substantial and thought provoking on the subject of Dravid rather than this obvious piece of nonsense.

[Dooks]

Sorry Sriram but India is not batting second time around. My hero has fallen from grace. He has been given a very very very long rope to ressurect his career but alas he is not getting any younger. He should have also announced his retirement at the same time as Dada and both would have gone out on the top. I love him dearly & he is my favourite of the flab 5 (now 4 and soon to be 3 or will it be 2?) but age has caught up with him. The reflexes are not as supple as they used to be plus the weight of getting runs is making it worse. RD is trying too hard (similar to Kumble in the last two tests that he played). Had Kumble just played his game then he might still have been around. Anyway, that is in the past. RD should/no must retire gracefully. It would be fitting if he and Dada end at the same time as they started at the same time. On the sad note: Will I enjoy cricket without the Dravid. I don't know. I may just become a casual viewed/listener compared to now very active member. End of an era - if he goes.

[Ram]

What in the world! Of course, this thread was more out of hope than out of belief, but you would have thought given the pitch, the docile opposition bowling and Dravid's stature, he would have made some runs, if not big runs. But to get out for zero! And the manner in which he got out is shocking, making a debutant off-spinner who had earlier been carted around for plenty look like Murali on the Sinhalese Sports club. What is going on RAHUL!

[cochise]

Rahul is depressed. He is a man of high standards and when he cannot measure up to his own standards....that is what happens. I really hope he finds a way out...but I fear the curtains are about to draw close.

[Guest HariSampath]

Here is an interesting angle from a cricket journalist who has been covering Indian cricket for years, and also knows Rahul Dravid personally very well. I had sent him my article , not merely analysing Dravid, but analysing Dravid in the context of what his continuous failures have meant to India: Here is what he replied " I certainly think that Dravid is at the end of the road, has been so for quite sometime , but this is the final stage. It is extremely doubtful that he will be picked again for India. While I agree with all the points you have raised, I just cannot write anything like that publicly, as it is a personal and emotional thing for me as he is quite a friend. What surprises me is the total transformation that has happened to his cricket and also the fact he apparently is in complete denial of the fact he has lost it. I am quite sure he will not allow his personal situation to affect India's fortunes or the prospects of other players. I feel he should have at least announced his retirement from ODI like Kumble did, but he has not done even that, and so I am quite unable to understand where he is coming from. But, now I think he should be and will be dropped from the Indian team" This is a seasoned journalist who has been covering Indian tours in England , Australia and Sri Lanka over the last year and he certainly reflects what most journalists feel but are not able to write publicly or even discuss with Dravid, as it is embarrassing them.

[King Tendulkar]

What in the world! Of course, this thread was more out of hope than out of belief, but you would have thought given the pitch, the docile opposition bowling and Dravid's stature, he would have made some runs, if not big runs. But to get out for zero! And the manner in which he got out is shocking, making a debutant off-spinner who had earlier been carted around for plenty look like Murali on the Sinhalese Sports club. What is going on RAHUL!

Agree. He looks a shell of the former great that he is. What does he do now?? Retire during this test or after? Carry on and potentially get dropped for eng series? Carry on get dropped, pile on the runs in FC cricket and force his way back? Strike a deal with selectors for farewell series against england? Slam a ton in 2nd innings and shut everyone up?

[SachDan]

Strike a deal with selectors for farewell series against England.

[Ram]

Agree. He looks a shell of the former great that he is. What does he do now?? Retire during this test or after? Carry on and potentially get dropped for eng series? Carry on get dropped, pile on the runs in FC cricket and force his way back? Strike a deal with selectors for farewell series against england? Slam a ton in 2nd innings and shut everyone up?

I really did have quite high hopes from him in this test match. Inside, I always kept telling myself ‘He’s too good to keep failing like this continuously. Its just a matter of probability, he’s gotto come good at some point of time’. What I am still not able to digest is the manner in which he got out.

[Guest HariSampath]

^ Well I hope he does gets a chance in the 2nd inngs and at least gets a 50, but as I have been writing, he must GO. By past pattern even if he gets a 100, we can all fully expect him to fail another 6 tests, and there is no place for that. There are far better players , younger and in form and more deserving too. So if Dravid doesnt quit, its going to be axing time for him. Its too bad, but he had the opportunity for a "deal" and he refused it and backed his batting. It has miserably failed and now he must not complain if he is dropped. Looks like Ganguly was smarter, he accepted the deal, and is now on the verge of signing off in style, in many ways the deal seems to have helped him too and he is playing completely pressure free. Dravid is a fool, he should have taken VRS along with Ganguly.

[King Tendulkar]

I am still mot ruling out my last option. A dravid ton:--D I love these legends and I am not giving up on the wall just yet!

[Dravid]

i knew MM wanted me to fail, thus the thread :(( :P

[Ram]

i knew MM wanted me to fail, thus the thread :(( :P

:yikes::ohmy:

[satishg]

i hope he gets a retirement series like Dada and retires after England series..i know he hasn done anything in the past 1 year but he deserves a series like that..Oh Rahul what has happened to you :((

[diegovegaz]

he will surely look to dominate in the 2nd innigs he didn't get time to settle today the team needs him to score runs at the top order, he'll definately live it to the expectations

[SachDan]

he will surely look to dominate in the 2nd innigs he didn't get time to settle today the team needs him to score runs at the top order, he'll definately live it to the expectations

:hysterical::hysterical: good excuse

[Guest HariSampath]

i hope he gets a retirement series like Dada and retires after England series..i know he hasn done anything in the past 1 year but he deserves a series like that..Oh Rahul what has happened to you :((

Well....RD had the option of the retirement series....now...in this series, why didnt he take it ?, he desrves it, no doubt, he was offered it in view of his continuous failure for 4-5 series...shud hv taken it, but didnt...oh Rahul Dravid, what has come over you...just let it go :nervous:

[punjabi_khota]

I don't think we should be looking too much into it even if he gets a 100 in 2nd innings...he did get a 90 odd score in Perth, which proved to be match winning..but that was followed by many failures again..the relatively big scores are coming way to sporadically too give too much importance to any one of them.