Rahul Dravid: The Wall that stood tall in all conditions

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.