The four-match competition against England was undoubtedly India’s most disastrous Test series ever in the history. The Indians were tiptoeing as nobody from the batting and bowling department could make an impact except a 38-year-old guy, named Rahul Dravid.
In the 4-0 clean-sweet, the Englishmen won two matches by an innings while the other two victories came by margins of more than 150. The high-voltage clash eventually emerged as a no event but Dravid did what he is famous for.
Playing an anchor-role in the innings, he collected 461 runs in four matches and came up as India’s ‘Player of the Series’.
At the start of the contest, the gurus of the game had no doubts over England’s potential to win the series convincingly but nobody was expecting such a lacklustre performance by the Men in Blue.
It is a reality that If some of the Indian batsmen had displayed shows similar to that of Dravid's, India’s fate might not been as miserable as it is at the moment.
Realising the fact that currently Dravid is the only man to lift the side, India’s national selectors called him back into the ODI squad.
Besides his outstanding run, which helped him surpass the legendary batsman, Sunil Gavaskar’s record of 34 Test centuries, the veteran batsman played for the team. He came to tour as a specialist one-down batsman but had to open the innings following the injury issues of Gautam Gambhir.
Yet, batting at the opening position did not affect his game as he showed resolute defence, strong temperament and flawless technique throughout the clash.
Sachin Tendulkar stepped into the series with huge expectations on his shoulders as he was just one ton away from a century of hundreds. Since the maestro holds a lot of potential to hammer even the best in the business, he was being considered as the most dangerous fellow for the home side before the start of the series.
However, Dravid’s great show with the bat pushed the Poms to admit that dismissing Dravid was more crucial for them than sending the Master Blaster back in the pavilion.
Throughout the four-match contest, the seasoned batsman remained a picture of mental toughness and a high level of commitment. Following a superb display of skills, he gathered praise from all across the globe.
Despite the fact that he is at the twilight of his career, his appetite for runs is not over yet. In the just-concluded series against England, he was absolutely focused. The moment, he started his innings throughout the series, he meant business.
Even though the seaming English tracks were not simple to bat on, he made it look easy with his stylish stroke-play. He made it bid, made it count and ensured that his knocks made the difference for the team.
Most of the time in the series, the mighty Englishmen looked helpless against him, failing to impose any pressure on Dravid, as it seemed almost impossible to create any gap between his bat and pad.
He spent dozens of hours at the crease, fighting and resisting against England’s world-class bowling. To stay at the crease for a longer period of time, a batsman needs to be physically very fit and Dravid, 38, is still as young as ever.
In 157 matches so far, the Indore-born batsman has amassed 12775 runs at 53.00. Since he is terrific form these days, he will be India’s key batsman in the ODI series against England.
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