49 epic stats about Rahul Dravid - An ode to the Legend on his 49th birthday!

Rahul Dravid turns 49 today. From being a young debutant in England in 1996 to being 'the Wall' to being the coach of the Indian cricket team. It has been a fascinating journey for one of Test Cricket’s greatest batters of all time.

Dravid, the epitome of defense as a batsman, has always been an understated player. His career spanning 16 years saw him win a plethora of matches for India across Test and ODI formats. His record in England and Away wins is among the best for India.

On his 49th birthday, here’s looking at 49 amazing stats about Rahul Dravid’s career. Stats that showcase how invaluable he was to the Indian team, as well as for cricket in general.

Rahul Dravid's overall Test Cricket record

Rahul Dravid - A legendary test cricketer

1. Rahul Dravid is one of only four batsmen in Test Cricket history to score over 13000 runs. He is behind only Sachin Tendulkar, Ricky Ponting, and Jacques Kallis.
2. He is one of only seven batsmen in cricket history to score 10000+ runs in both Tests and ODIs. The six others in this elite list are Sachin Tendulkar, Ricky Ponting, Kumar Sangakkara, Jacques Kallis, Mahela Jayawardena, and Brain Lara.
3. Dravid holds the record for most catches taken in Test Cricket - 210. This record may stand the test of time, as the most catches by an active player is just 147 by Joe Root.
4. He shares the record for most 90s scored in Test Cricket, along with Sachin Tendulkar and Steve Waugh. All of them have 10 90s to their name.
5. Rahul Dravid holds the record for most consecutive innings (across formats) without scoring a duck (173 innings). Another record that should stand the test of time.
6. Dravid has faced the most number of balls in Test Cricket - 31258 balls.
7. He is the only batsman in the 21st century to have scored four centuries in consecutive innings in Test cricket.
8. He has the second most number of runs in Test Cricket at No. 3 position - only behind Kumar Sangakkara. Dravid and Sangakkara are the only batsmen with 10000+ runs at this position.
9. Rahul Dravid was the first batsman to score centuries in and against all Test-playing nations.
10. He holds the record for the most number of minutes spent on the crease (44,152 Minutes or 735 hours)
11. He is one of only 10 players in Test history with over 150 appearances.
12. Rahul Dravid has scored the second-highest number of boundaries in Tests (1654), only behind Sachin Tendulkar’s 2058.
13. Dravid - Kumble is the second most prolific bowler - fielder pair, as Dravid has plucked 55 catches of Kumble’s bowling. They are second only to Jayawardena - Muralitharan’s 77.
14. He also holds the record for most catches in a calendar year by an Indian fielder (26 in 2002 and 2004).
15. Dravid is one of only two Indian batsmen to have scored centuries in both innings of a test more than once (Dravid has done it twice and Sunil Gavaskar has done it thrice).
16. Dravid is one of only eight batsmen in cricket history to have scored 10 centuries in a calendar year (across formats). He did it in 1999.
17. He is one of only six players in cricket history to have 300+ catches in his career (across formats).
18. Dravid holds the record for the lowest number of ducks per innings by an Indian batsman in Tests - once in 35.75 innings.
19. He holds the Indian record for the longest Test innings played (740 minutes vs Pakistan in Rawalpindi)

Dravid’s records overseas

1. He has the best average for an Indian batsman in England (Min 250 runs). He has scored 1376 runs in England at an average of 68.80.
2. He also holds the record for most centuries scored by an Indian batsman in England (6). He has the most centuries for any Away batsman (apart from Australians) in England. Only Rahul Dravid and Gordon Greenidge have scored 6 centuries in England.
3. Dravid has scored the most runs for India in Away wins (2293). He also holds the record for most 50+ scores for India in Away wins (16 - 7 100s and 9 50s)
4. Rahul Dravid has been involved in the most Away wins for India (24). Ishant Sharma is the second best with 21 wins.
5. His 270 vs Pakistan in Rawalpindi is the 5th highest score by a batsman in Away wins, and the second-highest by an Indian batsman (1st is Virender Sehwag’s 309 in Multan)
6. Dravid is one of only two batsmen in Test cricket history to score over 6000 runs in Away conditions (Sachin Tendulkar being the other).
7. The 305 runs he scored against Australia in India’s famous win at Adelaide is the second most number of runs scored by an Away batsman in a win in Australia. (First is Tip Foster with 306 runs in 1903)
8. Dravid batted for 541 minutes vs South Africa in Johannesburg for his 148, helping India to a draw. This is the longest innings by an Indian batsman in South Africa.
9. Only Indian opening batsman to have carried the bat in England - 146* at The Oval.
10. He has scored the most runs by an Indian batsman in West Indies (1511). He also has the most 50+ scores (14).
11. Dravid has the best average among Indian batsmen who have scored 500+ runs in draws (73.16).

Rahul Dravid and partnerships

From the Wall to the Coach

1. He has contributed to 32039 partnership runs in Test cricket whenever he has been at the crease - the highest in history.
2. Dravid is the only batsman to be involved in 700 partnerships in tests. No other batsman has even touched 650.
3. Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar have the most prolific partnership in Test cricket history. They have scored 6920 runs together at an average of 50.51 and with 49 50+ partnerships.
4. He has been involved in more century stands than any other batsman (88).
5. Dravid is also the only batsman to have 10+ century stands with 4 different batsmen (Sachin, Sehwag, Laxman, and Ganguly). No other batsman has even managed even three.
6. Dravid and Sehwag are one of only three batting pairs in history to have a 400+ run opening partnership in Test cricket (410 run partnership vs Pakistan in Lahore - 2006)
7. He is the only batsman in ODI history to have 2 300+ run partnerships (With Sachin Tendulkar and Saurav Ganguly)
8. Dravid is the only Indian batsman in Test history with four 300+ run partnerships (two with VVS Laxman, one each with Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag).

Rahul Dravid - the Captain

1. Dravid was the first Indian captain to win a Test in South Africa, as India won the Johannesburg test under his captaincy in 2006.
2. He was also just the 3rd Indian captain to win a test series in England, leading India to a series win in 2007.
3. He led India to 17 consecutive wins while chasing in ODIs in 2005-2006 - A world record.

Rahul Dravid in ODIs and T20s

Rahul Dravid - Oozing class across formats

1. Dravid is the 10th highest run-scorer in ODI history (10889 runs), and the fourth highest for India - behind Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, and Saurav Ganguly.
2. He is one of only three batsmen in ODI history to have scored over 1700 runs in a calendar year (1761 runs in 1999).
3. Dravid holds the record for most consecutive innings batted without scoring a duck in ODIs (120). This record could stand the test of time, as the closest among active players is Sikandar Raza of Zimbabwe, with 90 consecutive innings.
4. He is one of only 10 batsmen with 90+ 50+ scores in ODI cricket (95). He is third among Indian batsmen - behind Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli.
5. Rahul Dravid holds the record for the fastest 50 by an Indian wicket-keeper in ODIs. He scored his 50 off just 22 balls against New Zealand in Hyderabad.
6. He was the oldest Indian player to make his T20I debut when he played against England at Manchester in 2011 (38yrs 232days)
7. He has the third-highest score by an Indian wicket-keeper in ODIs (145 vs SL in Taunton)- Behind MS Dhoni’s 183 and 148.
8. Dravid shares the record, with Sachin and Kohli, for most consecutive 50+ scores by an Indian batsman in ODIs (5).