The second Test in Trent Bridge saw the right-hander open in both innings with Gambhir ruled out. In testing conditions, Dravid was once again the lone man standing amidst the constant despair from the other end which included a broken left hand to comeback man Yuvraj Singh, that ruled him out of the series. India lost the test, but Dravid was fighting on.
After a disappointing Test at Edgbaston, India went to The Oval for the fourth and final test, hoping to avoid a 4-0 whitewash. While India couldn‘t prevent that, England couldn't stop Dravid from doing what he did best: score runs.
After Gambhir banged his head onto the ground and left the field in a dizzy state, India were left with no option, but to open with their most dependable team man. With a mountain of runs in front of him, just like how it had been for the entire duration and a batting order that continued to not provide him with any support, Dravid produced an absolute master class in line judgement, footwork, patience and doggedness to score 146 not out and carry his bat through the innings as India reached the 300-run mark for the first time in the series.
With India having made to follow-on, Dravid returned to the middle 10 minutes after his monumental effort only to be given out in dodgy circumstances and what looked like then, end his tour on a low note.
India lost 4-0, but Dravid was adjudged the Man-of-the-Series for his tally of 461 runs in 4 Tests at an average of 76.33
The then England coach Andy Flower had this to say about the right-hander’s performance
“ Rahul Dravid has been a pillar of strength and resillience throught out this series. His outstanding performances have further undelined what a true champion of the game he is. As well as being one of the game’s great batsman, he is also a great bloke and is hugely respected by all in the England dressing room,”.
Time for the double shock
Dravid had done his bit to prove to the team and for himself. In the team’s darkest time, he had perhaps endured his finest hour. All his fans had enjoyed watching him bat even as the team failed to rise along with him.
But there was more surprise in store for him and for everybody back home and in England. Keeping in mind his rich vein of form, the selectors decided to include Dravid in the squad for the lone T20 and ODI series that succeeded the Tests.
If that decision by the five wise men of Indian cricket raised a few eyebrows, the announcement that followed a few hours later caught everybody even more by surprise. The 38-year-old decided to call time on his 50-over and T20 career after the series against England, in order to prolong his Test career, hours after been picked.
Prior to the lone T20, India were in dire straits. With no Virender Sehwag, Gambhir and Yuvraj in the batting order, India had to bring in urgent reinforcements in the form of Ajinkya Rahane and Varun Aaron to bolster a hugely depleted squad.
India’s middle order had the likes of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina and MS Dhoni while Rahane and Parthiv Patel were left to do the opening duties, leaving the number 3 spot vacant.
Who would fill that spot? On August 31, 2011, that is exactly four years back, the man, who was considered no good to play the format. Yes. Dravid made his T20 debut for India on this day, something that he himself might have never thought about doing, even in his wildest of dreams.
After Parthiv fell for 10, with India at 39 for 1, Dravid walked out to join Rahane. Regardless of who you are and your stature, you still have butterflies in your stomach when you walk out to bat on your debut.
Despite having scored over 10000 runs in both Tests and ODIs, the right-hander looked a tad nervous until the 11th over of the innings when left-arm spinner Samit Patel came to bowl his third over.
The next six balls will never be forgotten by any hardcore Dravid fan and will be played to every critic who thought the right-hander didn't have the capabilities to hit sixes.
10.1: ONE RUN, Dravid looks to go over the leg side, but only manages to inside edge it to third man for a single.
10.2: ONE RUN, Rahane knocks it to long off for a single
10.3: TWO RUNS, Dravid hits that leg-stump delivery to midwicket for 2 runs
10.4: SIX, Dravid gives himself room and whacks Patel over wide mid-on for his first six in international T20 cricket.
10.5: SIX, two-in-two. Dravid launches one more into the crowd, this time over long-on. Harsha Bhogle on commentary said, “ Ask him to jump off a cliff, in the form he is in and he would say here is the parachute, I don't need one,”.
10.6: SIX, a third one in a row, this time over square leg. Who says this man can’t hit big sixes?
Alas, though! That was the last bit of thrill that one could witness from his bat as he was out in the very next over caught by Eoin Morgan off Ravi Bopara for 31 off 23 balls. But boy, was it fun while it lasted!!!
Here’s a video of that magic:
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