Rahul Dravid walked into bat at the fall of Gambhir's wicket when the scorecard read 14 for 1. But little did he know that in the next 30 minutes, the famed Indian batting would fall like cards around him leaving the Indian camp stunned at 32 for 4 with the likes of Laxman, Tendulkar and Sehwag back in the hut, thanks to an inspirational performance from Welegedara. But Dravid with years of experience, tons of concentration and overflowing with confidence showed us again just why he is known as Mr.Consistent. 'The Wall' played one of his best knocks ever as he surpassed the 11,000 mark becoming the fifth-highest run-getter in Tests. Ahmedabad and the Sri Lankan team witnessed one of the finest displays of how to progress through an innings.
Rahul Dravid, one of India's greatest gem, just showcased his worth as he smashed 177 runs of 251 balls, lifting India from a miserable position of 32 for 4 to 385 for 6 at stumps. Dravid was involved in two century partnership with Yuvraj (68) and Dhoni (110), as India drew itself to an commanding position against the Lankan lions in the first day of the Ahmedabad test.
Dravid's innings was a treat for the eyes, and I am sure that it would be one of his memorable knocks. Dravid was at his sublime best as he cut, pulled, and drove the hapless Sri Lankan bowlers at will once he consolidated. The innings was well paced as Dravid first looked to see of the devastating spell from Welegedara, as he tried to consolidate India's position. But once he did just that, there was no stopping Dravid as he unleashed a well calculated attack that is not normally synonymous with Dravid. Dravid made plenty as he ended the day with a strike rate just above 70. Who said this man wasn't for ODI's? The silken touch of Dravid, as he flicked of his pads, the gentle caressing through the off-side, the ruthless square cut, and the pull shot were some of the amazing shots that were on view today. But for me the best shot he played was the six he hit of Herath.
Also in the process Dravid surpassed yet another milestone as he crossed the 11K mark, becoming the 5th highest run getter in Test history. Truly a stellar performance!
The hero of Ahmedabad is generally not given his due by the media that often lavishes rich praises on Sachin and others, but still his achievements are second to none. I just hope the selectors were watching the marvelous display of Rahul's batting. I think he has made a strong case for an ODI comeback, and with a strike rate of 70's who can say he's slow at getting his runs?
Hoping to see Jammy score a double century tomorrow. Good Luck Rahul, and Congrats on your wonderful century and also for breaching the 11K mark.
Asad Rauf not in Champions Trophy 2013
1 hour ago
5 Comments:
I loved one shot of his off Murali...where he quickly adjusted his forward stride to lean back, shift the weight to the backfoot and play and inside-out cover drive for four through a gap between two fielders placed there.
Murali had shortened the length on sensing Dravid's forward motion and made the ball drift to the middle and spun in with the intention to bounce off the pads into the stumps.
Fantastic stroke in a fantastic innings thus far...more to come.
Nice Blog Christopher!
I don't know if this innings of Rahul deserves anymore accolades after seeing that almost every batsman scored piles of runs on this pitch. I don't want to take anything away from him either as he pulled out his team out of crisis but was this innings extra ordinary? If so then what about the effort from other six centurions in the match?
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@Soulberry,
i can't agree more with you.
@Wasim,
Maybe not so significant as the pitch was dead batting pitch, but Dravid came in at 32 for 4 and didn't panic but went about building the innings.
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