Rahul Dravid - steps into 13,000 runs
It was a typical Dravid-at-his-best shot. A well pitched up ball driven majestically, between two fielders in the covers, the ball pinging off the middle of the bat and pinging into the advertising boards beyond the boundary. He has hit thousands of those in his international career. Except, this one was a little more significant than the ones previously hit - it took him to 13,000 Test runs - the second man to get there. A little later in the innings, Dravid tucked one behind square to also complete 1000 runs for the calendar year. It was, he would later say, amongst the most difficult 1000 runs he had scored. For a man whose scored about 24,000 international runs, he would know. And it's easy enough to see why Dravid considered this particular stretch of runs so satisfying. He had reached 12,000 runs in December 2010 against South Africa - in a series that India would ultimately go on to level, but in which he didn't play a very major part. Given the up and down form that Dravid had exhibited from 2007, he knew, the fans knew and the selectors also probably knew that if the tours to West Indies and England didn't go off well for Dravid the batsman, it would be a final goodbye. What followed is, of course, history. Even in the shambles that was the England tour, Indian cricket had found a major benefit with Rahul Dravid returning to his best. As astute an observer as Sourav Ganguly had said after the first Test at Lord's that he had watched Dravid in West Indies and thought the old form was back, and that the Lord's hundred merely confirmed his view.
Three times, Dravid has topped 1000 runs in a year, and his average this year is a mirror image of what it was the last time he did it in 2006 - which was also the last year of good form before his slump.
Years in which Dravid had made 1000 Test Runs:
| Year | Matches | Innings | Not Outs | Runs | Highest | Average | 100s | 50s | 0s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 16 | 26 | 3 | 1357 | 217 | 59.00 | 5 | 5 | 0 |
| 2006 | 12 | 22 | 4 | 1095 | 146 | 60.83 | 3 | 7 | 0 |
| 2011 | 11 | 20 | 3 | 1034 | 146* | 60.82 | 5 | 3 | 0 |
It's interesting to note that in all the years that Dravid has topped 1000 runs, he has never scored a duck.
When Dravid was in his pomp from 2002-2006, he rarely looked out of form when he was batting. Of course, he occasionally failed but an average of 63.70 over that five year period indicates that he failed rarely. But even when he did, and especially when he didn't, there seemed to be a reassuringly solid presence to Dravid at the crease. He didn't thrill the senses like Sehwag does, didn't quite inspire the awe and reverence that Tendulkar does or even the gasp-inducing artistry that Laxman does. But from 2002 to 2006, the Indian cricket fan slept most soundly if he knew that Rahul Dravid was still at the crease.
The reason that five year period is harked back on, is that since the start of India's tour to West Indies after this year's IPL, the Dravid that has batted has seemed a direct throwback to the one who did in 2002-06. It is visible in how the batting just looks so much more assured. How the feet move into the textbook position as if its the most easy, natural thing in the world. How there is no falling over, no bat hanging outside off-stump with the immaculate technique returning in full force. If probed deeper, it is even visible in how much quicker Dravid is scoring his runs (a strike-rate of 40 during his slump versus one of 45). And most intangibly, but yet most tellingly, it is visible in how his fans have stopped hopinghe does well and gone back to expecting - as a matter of course - that he would do well. How the sense of dread at seeing a glorious career end with an inglorious finale has given way to a sense of elation that Rahul Dravid is scripting his last chapter in a manner befitting of the majesty with which he has played for most of his career.
It's often lamented that for all his achievements, Dravid hasn't got the share of the limelight he deserves. It's 13,000 runs today - and perhaps a monumental landmark tomorrow to overshadow the 13,000 tomorrow. The man himself would tell you that it does not matter and that he doesn't feel - much less resent - overshadowed. And in many ways, he is right. An IPL here or an ODI there may temporarily push Dravid's deeds out of the mind's eye - but they are not erased from history. When the grand sweep of Indian cricket - or indeed world cricket - is looked at, Rahul Dravid's name will always be shining bright. After all, history cannot ignore those who write it.
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