Rahul Dravid: The Wall that stood tall in all conditions

Ask him to walk on water today, and he will say, "OK". Ask him to jump off a cliff, in the form he is in, he will say, "Here is the parachute, I don't need it".

These were the words of Harsha Bhogle on air when Rahul Dravid was smashing the English left-arm spinner Samit Patel in his lone T20I. India were whitewashed in the Test series against England in 2011 but there was a lone hero in the Indian setup - Rahul Sharad Dravid. He batted, batted and batted right through the series, scoring runs at will against the likes of Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad when all the other Indians found the going difficult. This was just one of the many rescue operations that were headed by the Indian legend.

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The grand debut

Dravid was knocking on the doors of the Indian team with some notable performances in the domestic circuit. He was eventually picked for the Indian Test team that toured England in 1996.

Sanjay Manjrekar failed a fitness test on the morning of the second Test match at Lord's on 20th June 1996 and Dravid was picked as a replacement, 10 minutes before the toss.

He walked in at number 7 after the dismissal of Ajay Jadeja, to accompany his fellow debutant, Sourav Ganguly, and batted for six long hours to score 95 glorious runs that included six fours. He was eventually dismissed caught behind off Lewis.

Dravid did not wait for the umpire's decision when he edged one to the keeper, which spoke a lot about his character.

Though his partnerships with Ganguly, Srinath and Kumble provided the crucial first innings lead, the match ended in a draw.

The first Test hundred

Dravid had missed his first Test hundred by five runs on his debut and had to wait for nearly six more months for it.

In the series against South Africa, the then Indian skipper Sachin Tendulkar won the toss at Johannesburg on 16th January 1997 and decided to bat. Indian opener Vikram Rathour lost his wicket early and Dravid walked in at number three, with 25 runs on the board.

Dravid went on to score a well-compiled 148 against a South African bowling attack comprising Allan Donald, Shaun Pollock and Lance Klusener. Dravid batted for 541 minutes and sent the red cherry to the boundary ropes 21 times.

This was Dravid's first of many Test hundreds. He scored 81 in the second innings but South Africa managed to draw the game.

Struggle in the limited overs format and comeback

Dravid struggled in ODIs early in his career

Dravid continued his good run in Tests but failed to replicate the same form in the limited overs format. He found himself in and out of the side due to his slow scoring rate.

By 1997, Dravid was already branded a Test specialist since he scored heavily in the longest format. But his style of play did not suit ODI cricket. By 1998, he had only scored 1709 ODI runs at a strike rate of 63.48.

Dravid, though, continued to work on his ODI game and the changes started to show.

Dream debut World Cup - 1999

Dravid slowly began to adapt to the format

Dravid, on his World Cup debut, against South Africa in Brighton on 15th May 1999, made a hard-earned 54 with five fours before being bowled by Klusener in bowling-friendly conditions.

The Indian team then faced Kenya in Bristol on 23rd May. Dravid scored his maiden World Cup hundred and ended up remaining not out on 104 off 109 balls with 10 fours. India posted a mammoth total of 329 runs and went on to win the game by 94 runs.

Sri Lanka were India's next opponents and Dravid walked in at number three to accompany Ganguly early on. The celebrated pair added 318 runs for the second wicket, with Dravid scoring a magnificent 145 courtesy 17 fours and a six. India posted a mammoth total of 373 and won the game quite easily by 157 runs.

With another fifty against Pakistan, Dravid emerged as the leading run scorer of the tournament with 461 runs at an average of 65.85 and a strike rate in excess of 85.

Prime Time

Under the captaincy of Sourav Ganguly, Dravid scored runs at will. So much so that he holds the record for highest percentage of runs scored in winning contributions under a single captain (minimum 20 wins).

In the 21 Test matches that India won under Ganguly's captaincy, Dravid scored 2571 runs at an average of 102.84, including nine hundreds (three of which were double hundreds) and ten fifties.

India toured Zimbabwe for a Test series where Dravid scored 200* in the first Test and another 160 odd in the second. He ended the tour with an average of 432.00.

Australia then toured India for a three-Test series in 2001. India lost the first Test at the Wankhede and the two champion sides then headed to Kolkata for the second Test. Steve Waugh's Australia scored 445 in their first innings, bowled India out for 171 and enforced a follow-on.

Dravid came out at number 6 to join VVS Laxman when the second innings score read 232/4. What followed was a batting masterclass.

Not a single wicket fell on the fourth day as Laxman scored a brilliant 281 and Dravid contributed a gritty 180, consisting of 20 beautiful boundaries.

The iconic pair added 375 runs for the fifth wicket and India went on to win the game by 171 runs.

Dravid was in fine form against England

India's tour of England in 2002 started with a triangular ODI series, Sri Lanka being the third team. Thanks to the heroics of Yuvraj Singh and Mohammed Kaif, India won the final against England. Dravid scored 245 runs at an average of 49 and affected nine dismissals as the wicket-keeper of the side.

In the Test series that followed, more specifically, in the second Test, at Nottingham, India scored 357 in the first innings. In reply, England scored 617. In their second innings, India were reduced to 11/2. Dravid, like he always did, brought India out of trouble by scoring a match-saving 115.

The action then shifted to Headingley for the third Test. On an overcast morning, the Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly won the toss and took the bold decision of batting first.

Dravid joined Sanjay Bangar in the middle at the fall of Sehwag's wicket. The two men countered the early swing and lateral movement that was served to them by Matthew Hoggard, Andrew Flintoff, Alex Tudor and Andy Caddick. Dravid scored an amazing 148 with 23 fours. Tendulkar and Ganguly also chipped in with hundreds.

India declared their first innings on 628/8 and bowled out the English lineup twice to clinch the game by an innings and 46 runs.

Dravid continued his scintillating form with an eye-catching 217 at the Oval in the last Test of the tour. The match and series ended in a draw.

'The Wall' scored 602 runs in the series at a Bradmanesque average of 100.33 and was adjudged the Man of the Series.

Prime Time - Part 2

Rahul Dravid was appointed the Vice Captain of the Indian side in the World Cup in 2003. He finished as the third highest run-getter for India in the tournament, with 318 runs at a very good average of 63.60.

He scored two fifties, with a highest of 62* off 72 balls against England. To add to that, his 44* against Pakistan made sure that India won the game against their arch-rivals.

Dravid was tasked with keeping wickets. He affected 16 dismissals in the 11 games. The strategy worked in favour of the Indians as they were able to play an extra batsman in most games.

Dravid in full flow against Australia

Dravid managed to score three double tons in the span of six months in the 2003/04 season.

After the drawn game at The Gabba, India and Australia reached Adelaide for the second Test match of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy of 2003/04.

In reply to Australia's mammoth total of 556, India did not get off to the best of starts and were placed at 85/4. VVS Laxman joined Dravid in the middle and the duo did exactly what was expected of them. The ever-reliable pair put on yet another 300-run stand. Dravid went on to score an outstanding 233, including 23 fours and a six before getting caught.

He came back and scored a beautiful 72* in the second innings, as India won the game by four wickets.

Dravid scored 619 runs at an average of 103.16 and the series was drawn 1-1.

Captaincy

Dravid had an interesting stint as captain

Dravid had a mixed record as Indian captain. India won eight of 25 Tests and 42 of 79 ODIs under his leadership.

India won their first ever Test in South Africa under the captaincy of Dravid. In Johannesburg in the first Test, the side from the subcontinent won the toss and elected to bat first, following which they were bowled out for 249.

The Indian new ball bowlers, Zaheer Khan and Sreesanth, bowled brilliantly, with Dravid setting attacking fields. South Africa were reduced to 38/6 and eventually bowled out for 84. India scored 236 in the second innings and chasing 402, South Africa fell short by 123 runs.

A team captained by Dravid crashed out of the World Cup

India then travelled to the Caribbean for the World Cup to redeem themselves for the 2003 heartbreak.

In their second league game, India faced Bermuda and scored 413 runs thanks to Sehwag's hundred and eighties by Yuvraj Singh and Sourav Ganguly. India won the game by a huge margin of 257 runs.

However, they lost to Bangladesh and Sri Lanka and eventually didn't qualify for the super eights.

India performed admirably in England

India then headed to England for a Test series, with the first game scheduled to take place at Lord's on the 19th of July. On the last day of the Test, England needed one wicket to win the game. However, bad weather and MS Dhoni's 76* made sure that India eked out a draw. The two teams then travelled to Nottingham for the second Test.

Dravid won the toss and decided to bowl. The Indian bowlers didn't disappoint their skipper as England were bowled out for 198. India then put up a total of 481, following which England could manage just 355.

India needed 73 runs to win the game. Though they lost three wickets chasing the smallish target, captain Dravid and Ganguly made sure that they won the game by seven wickets.

However, they lost the 7-match ODI series that followed, which resulted in the end of Dravid's tenure as captain.

England 2011

Dravid celebrates his Lord's century

The first Test of India's tour of England in 2011 began at Lord's on the 21st of July, 2011. England declared their first innings on 474/8, following which India got themselves off to a good start as Gautam Gambhir and Abhinav Mukund put up 63 for the first wicket.

Out walked Rahul Dravid at the fall of the first wicket. India lost wickets at regular intervals, but Dravid held firm at one end and scored his maiden Lord's 100.

He waged a lone battle, scoring 103* that included 15 fours. India eventually lost the game by 196 runs.

After the loss at Lord's, India faced England in the second Test at Nottingham on the 29th of July, 2011. Late heroics from Stuart Broad ensured that England put on a fighting 221, after having slumped to 121/8.

Dravid walked out to open the Indian innings and scored his second hundred of the series. He scored a graceful 117, with 15 fours. However, it was not enough to prevent England from winning the match.

India then succumbed at Edgbaston as well, thanks to Alastair Cook's 294 in the first innings. With the series in favour of England 3-0, the teams travelled to London for the final Test at the Oval on 18th August 2011.

In reply to England's 591/6, Indian openers Dravid and Virender Sehwag walked out to the crease. James Anderson, Stuart Broad and Tim Bresnan were lethal with the new ball and India were reduced to 95/5 with "The Wall" holding fort at one end.

Dravid scored a majestic 146* off 266 balls, with 20 fours. He ended up carrying his bat and when India were asked to follow-on, Dravid came back again as an opener. He received a standing ovation after being dismissed by Graeme Swann in the second innings.

The Indians were whitewashed in the Test series. But there was one man who weathered the storm - Rahul Dravid. He was adjudged the Man of the Series for scoring 461 runs at 76.83 with three fighting hundreds.

Dravid was in sparkling form in his lone T20I innings

Owing to his brilliant performances in the Test series, Dravid was picked for the T20I and ODI series against England as well. However, immediately after being picked, he announced his retirement from limited overs cricket post the completion of the series.

Dravid came in at number three when MS Dhoni won the toss and opted to bat in the lone T20I at Manchester. After getting rid of early jitters, he smashed England spinner Samit Patel for three sixes in a row but was dismissed soon after by Ravi Bopara.

Dravid scored 31 runs off 21 balls in his lone T20I innings, a match India lost by six wickets.

'The Wall' didn't have a great ODI series, but formed a wonderful partnership with Virat Kohli in his final ODI match for his nation. The former Indian captain scored 69 runs off 79 balls with four fours before being bowled by Graeme Swann.

That marked the end of an outstanding ODI career.

Australia 2011 and Retirement

Dravid retired after the 2011 Australia tour

India toured Australia for a 4-match Test series, 2-match T20I series and a triangular ODI series in December 2011.

Interestingly, MS Dhoni opted out of the first tour match against Cricket Australia Chairman's XI and Dravid was chosen to lead the Indian lineup.

Dravid didn't have a great series with the bat. He scored only 194 runs at 24.25 in four Test matches. Known for his solid defence, he was surprisingly cleaned up seven times in the series.

After the conclusion of the tour, Dravid announced his retirement from international and domestic first-class cricket. He finished with 13288 Test runs and 36 hundreds at an average of 52.31.

As an opener, a solid number three, a finisher, a vice-captain, a wicket-keeper, a captain and a brilliant slip fielder, Rahul Dravid did almost everything that the team needed from him.

He was the quintessential team player.