Rahul Dravid was distinguishably different from others, and his batting vouched for it. His style of play, his temperament, his demeanour, his eloquence: everything was contrary to the stereotypical Indian cricketer. And, in a sixteen-year long international career, Dravid achieved things entirely different from what others could.
His numbers in England hardly reflected those of an Indian batsman: he averaged close to 70 in 13 Tests, spread over three equally spaced out tours in 1996, 2002 and 2011. With a water-tight technique and zen-like concentration, he was able to conquer the testing conditions in England with ease. A testament of the same was his career defining double ton at Kennington Oval on the 2002 tour.
On his way, Dravid managed to steal Sachin Tendulkar’s thunder, who was playing his momentous 100th Test, and displayed an immaculate array of strokes on his way to his then career-best 217.
Nasser Hussain opted to bat on a placid wicket, and Michael Vaughan scored his fourth ton of the summer with a stylishly compiled 195, falling agonisingly short of his maiden double ton.
In reply, India lost Sehwag early, but Dravid looked in fine touch from the word go. Unmindful of a mammoth trail, he consistently took giant front foot strides, driving and flicking deliveries with ease. When the length was held back a bit, it seemed that he had all the time in the world to hang back and pierce the gap between gully and point.
He looked in his zone, even after reaching the three-figure mark in 213 balls. He realised that the trail still had to be quelled, and a huge innings was required to steer the match towards a draw. It looked as if he started from zero again, and instead of easing up after his ton, he started building his innings.
Dravid started Day 4 on 131, looking fresh for a long haul. Much like the previous day, the English bowlers looked listless against Dravid’s range of strokes. He pushed past 200, the second time in his career, displaying satisfaction more than emotion in his celebration. It was unfortunate that the mammoth knock came to an end via a run-out, but it seemed that it was the only way the opposition could have seen his back.
His effort was just four runs short of Gavaskar’s 221, the highest by an Indian in England. Yet, Dravid gave a first-hand account of his legendary temperament on that day, and gave Indian batsmen a lesson in batting away from home.
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