RCB VS MI

 ITS THE CLASH OF THE TITANS...ITS SACHIN VS DRAVID...HOPE THAT RCB WINS 2DAY AND THEIR WINNING STREAK CONTINUES...GO RCB GO!!!!MAR DRAVID PLAY A VERY IMPORTANT PART IN 2DAY'S MATCH....

 

Critics can say  whatever, but class is class

  Tuesday’s game showed us one thing: It doesn’t matter where you’re from, or what form of the game it is, when good players are challenged, or criticised by people who don’t have anything else to say, they tend to show the world why they’re considered good, or great.

That’s what Jacques Kallis did on Tuesday and that’s what Rahul Dravid has done for us more than a few times. Players like Kallis and Dravid are pure quality.
They look to take control of the situation and generally thrive in pressure-cooker situations.
Even in T20 cricket, their strike rates are comparable to those of many big-hitters, and their innings are perhaps more valuable because you know these are the men you can depend on. They’ll invariably bail you out when the more flamboyant men fail.
The thing is, because of the way they bat, with calm authority, and because we’re not used to seeing them bat like this, we’re conditioned to think this format isn’t their cup of tea. What we tend to overlook is that they adapt, and adapt beautifully. Experience is a priceless asset and we’re fortunate to have people like them.
But things got a bit hairy for a bit on Tuesday. On such a wicket, where the runs keep coming, it’s very difficult. As a captain and a bowler, you start chasing the ball; as in, you start putting a fielder wherever the ball goes. We bowled well during the restrictions, but we gave away too many later and missed a couple of chances. The wicket was a batter’s feast and they took whatever was on offer.
We thought we gave away 25-30 too many, but told ourselves to stick to our goal, which is
to chase down totals in 19 overs.
That 19-over mark is important, because it keeps us wired. Otherwise, a couple of good overs often get batters complacent and we can’t afford that in this format.
Which is why it was fantastic, the way Jacques controlled the game, how Manish Pandey helped give us that all-important start and then, how Robin Uthappa played — he was exceptional. I remember telling Mark Boucher and someone else that we needed one game-changing innings, someone to get a fifty in 20 balls. Robin gave us that.
We’ll be looking forward to doing it again against Rajasthan. They’re hit by injuries but we’ll be looking to keep our momentum going, play to our strengths.
On a personal note, my injury seems okay. I’m all set to play. And have my team win.

Kevin Pietersen aided by Rahul Dravid advice

Pietersen was out bowled for 99 but it was a welcome return to form

Kevin Pietersen paid tribute to India batsman Rahul Dravid after returning to form with a knock of 99 on day one of England's first Test in Bangladesh.

The batsman has only one century since 2008 and has struggled in South Africa and the warm-up games in Bangladesh.
But he said a phone call with Dravid this week has helped turn his form around as England ended play on 374-3.
"I spoke with Rahul and his advice was spectacular. I'd have taken a 99 before play, so today was special," he said.
"I have worked so hard, especially this week, and I have genuinely absolutely loved it.
"I suppose I felt under pressure in terms of the way I play left-arm spin because it's troubled me the last few weeks. I knew I had to work it out - the top three bowlers in the world are left-armers and with umpires happy to give you out lbw on the front foot now I've had to adjust things.

"I've had plenty of time to speak to (England team director) Andy Flower - a great player of spin - in the nets and he's helped. And speaking to Rahul, another amazing player of spin, was a huge help.
"I've played with Rahul for (IPL outfit) Bangalore, I've played a lot of Test match cricket against him and in two weeks I'll be spending a month with him (at the IPL).
"It's great to spend time speaking to people like that and he's helped a heck of a lot. Little things like where my hands were, where I put my feet, what areas I wanted to hit into. He gave me a couple of tips he uses and it really worked out great.
"I've made a slight adjustment, put hours in in the nets and sweated more than I've sweated through my entire career and that's paid off.
"Sometimes you have to work on your game harder than at other times and that hard work paid off today - 99 is better than nought," he added on BBC Radio 5 live.
    
While his innings was a welcome return to something like his best for Pietersen, it was overshadowed by opener Alastair Cook's imperious 158 not out on his debut as England Test captain.
The left-hander struck 14 fours and two sixes in his 244-ball innings as he batted through the day to become the fifth Englishman to reach three figures in his first Test outing as captain, with Pietersen the fourth.
"Getting a hundred on your first day as Test captain is something dreams are made of," he said.
"To have batted all day was fantastic. It's always the thing on these surfaces - maintain concentration, try to maintain your tempo, and dig in.
"I've certainly got my sights set on a big innings, yes. If I can get back in on the second morning and keep doing the things I did today, hopefully I can go on to a really big one."
England were certainly helped by a below-par performance from the home bowlers, while opposing captain Shakib Al Hasan's decision to field first at the toss in no little way handed Cook's side the initiative.
        
"I was surprised at the toss and yes I would have batted," admitted Cook. "It looks a good pitch, but then maybe they know something we don't."
And Bangladesh coach Jamie Siddons conceded the decision to field first was "in hindsight, a bad decision".
"We thought we knew a bit about the Chittagong wicket," he said. "We thought that it would spin on day one and get flatter and flatter like it has in the past, but for some unknown reason it didn't turn.
"We've probably put ourselves out of the game. I don't think two teams can win the game from here.
"We are pretty much out of the game, unless we bowl terrifically in the morning and even then we have to bat the house down."

      POEM ON RAHUL DRAVID!!!!!

'oh Rahul,star of our dreams,
u r dashing nd ur eyes gleam,
u make loads of runs,
most of ur innings consists of tonns,
Each stroke u play has a class in it,
which maddens bret,murali ,warne to say "ohhhh shit!!!",

poor-poor murali,glenn The older boyz,
think tht they can take ur wickets like toys,

but they have to suffer nd have to cry,
till the umpire pities tem nd bid u good-bye,

Adams,pontings,maliks ' gangs,
are very sad bcoz more r ur fans,,

u r better then saurav sachin and gavaskar nd all the BIG names tht one can remember,,

oH!! cricketer of the century,,you r really very cute,
As sweet as the music of FLUTE

TENDULKAR VS DRAVID-AGGRESSION VS DEFENSE


Firstly I would like to give some examples which can support my topic for debate.If u don't know who the following people are please read about them.

Who was a better Physicist, Newton or Einstien? Who was a better painter, Michaelangelo or Da Vinci? A better writer, Camus or Sartre? These, like who is a better batsman Tendulkar or Dravid, are questions to which finding an objective answer is not possible.

They are great batsmen with their own styles, strengths, and weaknesses. Statistics, and specially their selective use, can be used to portray one as better than the other, but what one does is merely to highlight their strengths or weaknesses.

Tendulkar supporters will point to the depressing 90s to show that he is a better batsman when he performed in a team lacking cohesiveness, a top quality bowling attack, and good openers. Dravid supporters will jump on to argue that it is Dravid who has actually made use of this improvement in the team to produce match winning innings. But the issue of who is better will remain unresolved because what both camps have done is merely to highlight the strength of their hero while downplaying the strength of the opponent. It can equally well be argued that if Dravid lacked the ability to produce stirring innings in a team which was given consistently poor starts, Tendulkar lacks the ability to pick up his game those extra couple of notches to make the opposition pay for those consistently good starts.

The Tendulkar fan club will argue that he is a better player by the virtue of having performed for a longer time at the international arena. The Dravid group will have its retort ready that it cannot be held against Dravid that he made his debut at the age of 23 and even before his purple patch of the last four years he was averaging just above 50, same as what Tendulkar did in his first few years.

Then with the debate going nowhere the topic would move to "matchwinning" innings, negating the fact that cricket is a team sport and there will always be more than one stand out performance over five days. The Dravid group will take the lead here and point out Kolkata, Rawalpindi, Adelaide et al. and the Tendulkar group after going on the defensive initially will point out to the pathetic support received from other batsmen when he scored big. They will also use this point to argue he made his runs in more difficult situations when all failed.

By now, both sides would be a bit exasperated and willing to concede that the guy in the enemy camp is also a pretty decent bat but this but that and suddenly one of the sides will say aahaa, Dravid has a better defensive technique and but will quickly sit down when wounded but not any less passionate the Tendulkar camp will point to his extraordinary stroke play. And then the two enemy camps will go off in a slumber till one of their heroes once again produces an innings of breathtaking brilliance and normal services will be restored.

Though, none of the two groups will be able to convince the other that their hero is better, but it would have been a wonderful debate leading to a much better understanding of two geniuses playing in the same team by a freak coincidence of history. Hats off Sachin and Rahul.... 

The importance of Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman 

How many times have you chuckled when Rahul Dravid has taken guard for India in a Test match. How many times have you wildly cheered the arrival of Sachin, after the departure of India's most reliable batsman. It's payback time now! Indian cricket is feeling the pinch. In the absence of two of its greatest Test batsmen, India are feeling the heat against a rampaging South African side.

Sachin Tendulkar's brilliance and Sehwag's nonchalant ways at the crease was not enough to help India to a face saving draw. What the team needed was someone to put a dead bat in front of Steyn and Morkel's raw pace. At the end of the match, Captain MS Dhoni rued the absence of the two stalwarts. "We were blown away by Dale Steyn by his swing, both conventional and reverse. We missed Rahul and Laxman", he said.
                 Dravid and Laxman, have won and drawn far more games for India, than any other player in the current Test side. The Dravid-Laxman resume is topped by the miraculous win that both these players manufactured out of a near hopeless situation in Kolkata. The victory still ranks as one of the greatest in Indian Test match history.
The same pair rescued India from a precarious situation in the Adelaide Test in the 2003-04 tour to Australia. India went on to register history on the back of Rahul Dravid's 233 and VVS Laxman's 148 in the first innings. Dravid returned to fire an unbeaten 72 runs, which guided India to victory in the Test.
                 The fact is most of India's win abroad have come in conjunction with Dravid scoring heavily for the team. Think of all the Test wins we have had abroad; Adelaide, Rawalpindi, Leeds, Perth-all of them Dravid's name etched over them. Not one of these sweet victories has come without the stamp of Dravid on it.
Same is the case for VVS Laxman. His epic 281 won us the Kolkata Test, the knock of 148 runs in Adelaide, provided support to Dravid's magnificent double hundred. In the eight Test matches that India has won against Australia, Laxman averages a mighty 71.57, with two hundreds. On the same parameter, Dravid averages 68.33, with two hundreds to his credit. Such has been the contribution of these two cricketers.
The Nagpur Test has provided a glimpse of the future of Indian Test cricket, and without Dravid and  Laxman          it looks scary.

NO DRAVID NO TEST CRICKET!!!


India's collapse in d 1st innings and almost no contribution from the middle order has led ind to 233 allout in its 1st innings and was followed on to finish the 3rd day at ind-66/2 .

 When dravid is in the team nobody realises his contribution but when he is not in the team then this is what happens...so for all the ppl who crticize dravid may have learnt a lesson...Lets see how ind bat on the 4th day....But surely dravid is god in test cricket.....
 

India losing Dravid is like SA losing Kallis: de Villiers

NAGPUR: Rahul Dravid is as important for India as Jacques Kallis is for South Africa, said visiting middle-order batsman A B de Villiers,
insisting that the experienced right-hander's absence will hurt the hosts in the Test series starting on Saturday.

"The number three spot is the biggest one according to me. People don't realise how big a spot that is. A guy like Dravid has stood like a rock under pressure for the Indian side and to lose that is like us losing Kallis. You can't replace a guy like that," said de Villiers on Thursday.

His younger teammate and rookie left-arm pacer Wayne Parnell too echoed similar views on the absence of Dravid from the Indian line-up for the series opener.

"Rahul is a major loss to the Indian team but there are guys like (VVS) Laxman, (Virender) Sehwag and (Gautam) Gambhir who can get big hundreds," Parnell said.

Rahul Dravid undergoes surgery on injured left upper jaw

Rahul Dravid, who was injured after being hit by a short delivery during the Mirpur Test against Bangladesh underwent a minor corrective surgery

on his injured left upper jaw at the Manipal Hospital in Bangalore on Friday.Maxillofacial surgeon Dr Kishore Nayak performed the surgery, and it is reported that Dravid will be discharged later in the day.

       Manipal Hospital Medical Director Dr H S Balel said, "Rahul Dravid suffered a depressed fracture of the left cheek bone (left zygomatic arch bone) and this was corrected using a standard open approach."

"Dravid will be discharged from hospital and can resume normal activities in about two days," he added.

Dr Balel further said, "Dravid has been advised not to play cricket or any contact sports for about 2-3 weeks by the treating surgeon Dr Kishore Nayak. He will be reassessed for fitness on a regular basis."

The prolific Indian batsman has been left out in the squad in the series against the Proteas beginning on February 6 due to his injury.

Dravid in hospital after being hit on jaw

RAHUL DRAVID has sustained a fractured jaw bone after being struck on the side of his face by a bouncer from Shahadat Hossain on the second day of the Dhaka Test, and is unlikely to play any further part in the match. His condition is "not serious" and there are no signs of a head injury, according to the Indian team manager Arshad Ayub.

"Rahul Dravid was struck by a ball on the side of his face today," Ayub said. "He was taken to the hospital and a fracture was detected. He is unlikely to participate for the rest of the match."

He also informed that Dravid would be kept under observation at a city hospital overnight and his release will depend on a medical assessment. "His condition is stable and he will be kept under observation."

Asked whether Dravid will return to India or stay back, Ayub said, "Nothing has been decided yet. We will take a call on that tomorrow."

Earlier, Mostafa Kamal, the BCB president, who visited the hosptial, said Dravid had sustained "light fractures". "I just met Rahul, he is feeling fine and is having his meal," Kamal told Cricinfo. "My doctors have told me that there are a couple of light fractures, nothing serious. He will be fine."

Kamal was quoted by Bangladesh TV channels as saying Dravid would be returning to India but he sought to clarify that statement. "I meant my doctors have told me he can go back tomorrow if he wants to. It's a decision for Rahul and the Indian board to make. There is nothing to worry about; everything is fine. He will be discharged tomorrow."

The incident occurred in the second over with the new ball, the 82nd of the innings, and with Dravid batting on 111 when he ducked into the bouncer. The ball didn't climb as high as he thought it would and hit his ear guard as he tried to get his head out of the way.

India already have injury worries with Yuvraj Singh suffering a minor hand injury, which kept him away from batting at his normal position today. He was seen padded up when night-watchman Harbhajan Singh was batting.

Ayub said Yuvraj's wrist was "not fine" and an update was pending. "Yuvraj has a sprain in his left wrist and was taken to the hospital for further investigation. A decision on whether he will be able to bat will be taken tomorrow."

Dravid calls for more space between domestic games

Cricinfo staff

January 16, 2010

	Rahul Dravid has backed the concept of neutral curators for Ranji Trophy games © AFP

Rahul Dravid has called for greater space between games in India's domestic season in order to enable players to give their best, and increase the possibility of more outright results. Dravid, who is currently in Bangladesh for the two-Test series, said the frequency of matches and consequently, the lack of breathing space, was a reason for the numerous draws the Ranji Trophy witnessed.

"Since the domestic season is very cramped, the teams don't want to tire their bowlers by trying to go for an outright win," Dravid was quoted as saying by Outlook. "The amount of cricket we play at the domestic level needs to be looked into. It might mean cancelling one or two tournaments, so that there's a proper gap between the Ranji Trophy games.

"Maybe the spacing of the Ranji Trophy games could be a bit better to give the players a bit more rest between the games."

Karnataka would have missed Dravid in the nail-biting final against Mumbai, as they lost by six runs while chasing 338. Dravid had to join the Indian team in Bangladesh for the Test series. He said though the Ranji Trophy was missing national players, they too needed a break, given the hectic schedule. "Some are playing all the year for India, it's not easy. You need a break," he said.

Dravid backed the concept of neutral curators to encourage more outright results in the competition and said it was also beneficial for the long-term development of first-class cricketers. "Some people may play safe because they don't want to lose outright," he said. But local associations must understand that if they want to develop good cricketers, they need their state players to play on good wickets. They might lose some matches, but in the long run they'll benefit.

"I like the concept of neutral curators and the board is giving them a direction. And, to be fair, the quality of the wickets is improving."

The thrilling final was received brilliantly in Mysore where crowds flocked in big numbers for each of the four days. On the final day, given the tense encounter, those who couldn't get tickets were seen sitting on terraces and trees outside the venue. The lack of time, Dravid said, could have been a reason for poor attendances in the previous games.

"It's not that people are not interested," he said. "They still follow the scores religiously; it's just that they don't have the time, which is understandable.

"It'll be a good idea to have AIR [All India Radio] do live radio coverage of the games. They'd be surprised to see how many follow the games, especially their own state teams."

                                                                                                                                                                                               

          ANSWER TO THE ONLY CRITIC MADE TO SIR.DRAVID

• 
  
  One of Dravid's most debated decisions was taken in March 2004, when he was standing in as captain for an injured Sourav Ganguly. The Indian first innings was declared at a point when Sachin Tendulkar was at 194 with 16 overs remaining on Day 2. In Dravid's defence, the media noted at the time that the decision had apparently been made by Ganguly, and Ganguly himself later admitted that it had been a mistake, the wording of the statement indicating that it had not been Dravid's call.
  
  
  

CHILDHOOD PICS OF DRAVID...RARE GLIMPSES

RD I ALWAYS SAY TO EVERYONE THAT I LOVE U MORE THAN MYSELF,I ACTUALLY CRIED WHEN U WERE DROPPED FROM THE TEAM BUT WHEN PPL ASK WHY I LIKE U SO MUCH THERE ARE NO WORDS BCOZ UR GREATNESS,DEDICATION COMMITMENT AND STYLE AND DA PERSON U ARE IS BEYOND ALL WORDS

ITS RAHUL DRAVID'S BIRTHDAY TODAY....WISHING U A VERY VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY AND HOPING THAT U PLAY FOR ATLEAST 10 MORE YEARS....UR DIE HARD FAN..ALOK...U ARE REALLY A GOD!!THANK YOU FOR WHATEVER U HAVE GIVEN TO WORLD CRICKET...NOBODY CAN EVER REPLACE YOU....HAPPY BIRTHDAY SIR!!!!

Dravid in World Cups

Dravid was top run scorer in the 7th World Cup(1999), scoring 461 runs. He is the only Indian to score two back to back 100's in World Cup's.He scored 110 vs Kenya and followed it with a masterly 145 vs Sri Lanka in Taunton in a match where he kept wickets later.He was vice captain during 2003 World cup where India reached the final, serving his team in the dual capacity of batsman and wicket keeper to accommodate additional batsman, a move that paid huge dividends for India. Dravid was the captain during 2007 cricket world cup in West Indies, where Indian cricket team had a dismal campaign.

Style

With a strong technique, he has been the backbone for the Indian cricket team. Beginning with the reputation of being a defensive batsman who should be confined to Test cricket, he was dropped from ODIs as he was slow in making runs. However, in a period of his career he began consistently scoring runs in ODIs as well, earning him the award of ICC player of the year. His nickname of 'The Wall' in Reebok advertisements has now become a tribute to his consistency. Dravid has scored 26 centuries in Test cricket at an average of 55.11, including 5 double centuries. In one-dayers though he has an average of 39.49, and a strike rate of 71.22. He is one of the few Indians who average more at away matches than at home, averaging over 10 more runs a match abroad than on Indian pitches. As of 9 August 2006, Dravid's average in overseas Tests stood at 65.28 as against his overall Test average of 55.41, and his average for away ODI stands at 42.03 as against overall ODI average of 39.49. In matches that India has won, Dravid averages 78.72 in Tests and 53.40 in ODIs.

Dravid's sole Test wicket was that of Ridley Jacobs in the fourth Test against the West Indies during the 2001-2002 series. While he has no pretensions to being a bowler, Dravid often kept wicket for India in ODIs. He has since delegated the wicket-keeping gloves, first to Parthiv Patel and more recently to Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Dravid is now purely a batsman, one who has averaged 63.51 in matches played since 1 January 2000.

Dravid was involved in two of the largest partnerships in ODIs: a 318-run partnership with Sourav Ganguly, the first pair to combine for a 300-run partnership, and then a 331-run partnership with Sachin Tendulkar, which is the present world record. He also holds the record for the greatest number of innings since debut before being dismissed for a duck. His highest scores in ODIs and Tests are 153 and 270 respectively. Uniquely, each of his five double centuries in Tests was a higher score than his previous double century (200*, 217, 222, 233, 270).

Also, Dravid is the current world record holder for the highest percentage(%) contribution of runs scored in matches won under a single captain, where the captain has won more than 20 Tests.^[35] In the 21 Test matches India won under Sourav Ganguly's leadership, Dravid played his part in every single one of those wins, scoring at a record average of 102.84 and piling up an astonishing 2571 runs, with nine hundreds - three of them double-centuries - and ten fifties in 32 innings. He contributed nearly 23% of the total runs scored by India those 21 matches, which is almost one run out of every four runs the team scored.

An innings-by-innings breakdown of Dravid's Test match batting career, showing runs scored (red bars) and the average of the last ten innings (blue line).

He was named one of the Wisden cricketers of the year 2000. Though primarily a defensive batsman,Dravid has scored 50 not out in 22 balls(Strike Rate-227.27)vs NewZealand in Hydrabad on 15 Nov,2003,second fastest 50 among Indians.Only Ajit Agarkar 67 of 21 balls is faster than Dravid.

In 2004, Dravid was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India. On 7 September 2004, he was awarded the inaugural Player of the year award and the Test player of the year by the International Cricket Council, ICC (associated image below). Dravid's batting average of 95.46 in the past year has made him the only Indian to be in the Test team of the year. On 18 March 2006, Dravid played his 100th Test against England in Mumbai.

In 2005, a biography of Rahul Dravid written by Devendra Prabhudesai was published, 'The Nice Guy Who Finished First'.

In the 2005 ICC Awards he was the only Indian to be named to the World one-day XI.

In 2006, it was announced that he would remain captain of the Indian team up to the 2007 World Cup in the West Indies.

After the England Series however, he stepped down as captain of India due to personal reasons. Mahendra Singh Dhoni took over as ODI captain. Anil Kumble replaced him in test matches.

In 2007, he was dropped from the Indian ODI Squad following poor series against Australia. Dravid went back to play for Karnataka in the Ranji Trophy, scoring 218 against Mumbai.

In 2008, he made 93 in the first innings of the Perth test, the highest score of the match, to help India win and make the series 1-2. However, he was ignored by selectors for the subsequent one-day tri-series.

After a barren run in Test matches in 2008, Dravid came under increasing media pressure to retire or be dropped. In the Second Test against England in Mohali, he scored 136, putting on a triple-century stand with Gautam Gambhir.

After reaching 10,000 test runs milestone, he was quoted saying, "It's a proud moment for sure. For me, growing up, I dreamt of playing for India. When I look back, I probably exceeded my expectations with what I have done over the last 10 to 12 years. I never had an ambition to do it because I never believed - it is just a reflection of my longevity in the game."^[36]

Timeline

• 1973 - Born 11 January 1973, in Indore
• 1984 - Attended a summer coaching camp at KSCA's Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore, where his talents were spotted by former cricketer turned coach Keki Tarapore (There was another Keki Tarapore [Mumbai, deceased] with whom people confuse this gentleman who also passed on.)
• Scores his first century in an unofficial match for his school team St. Joseph's against St. Anthony's.
• Scores a double hundred for the Karnataka schools team which he smashed against Kerala.
• Selected for the under-15 Karnataka team.
• Stops keeping wickets on advice from Gundappa Vishwanath, Roger Binny, Brijesh Patel and coach Keki Tarapore.
• 1985 - Gets recognised in Bangalore as a prodigy after becoming the first ever to score a century in the Cottonian Shield inter school tournament (Juniors) for St. Josephs High School against Baldwin Boys' High School, in the final.
• 1991 - Ranji debut against Maharashtra.
• 1996 - Double century in Ranji finals, vs. Tamil Nadu.
• 1996 - Test debut at Lords, England after Sanjay Manjrekar was injured and Navjot Singh Sidhu flew back home after a fracas with captain Azharuddin. Makes 95.
• 1997 - Maiden Test hundred (148), vs. South Africa, third Test, Johannesburg.
• 1997 - First one day hundred (107), vs. Pakistan, Independence Cup, Chennai.
• 1998 - Dropped from One Day squad for the ODI tournament in Bangladesh.
• 1999 - Hundred in both innings (190,103) against New Zealand in Hamilton.
• 1999 - Makes 461 runs, including three 50s and two 100s in World Cup.
• 1999 - Signs up with Kent for the 2000 English county season.
• 2001 - Scores 180, while V. V. S. Laxman makes 281, in a fifth-wicket stand of 376 as India defeat Australia at Eden Gardens, ending 16 Test-winning streak by Australia.
• 2004 - Career best 270 against Pakistan, at Rawalpindi.
• 2005 - Succeeds Sourav Ganguly as Test and ODI captain.
• 2005 - The Nice Guy Who Finished First by Devendra Prabhudesai, released by coach Greg Chappell.
• 2006 - Scores first century as captain, at Lahore, vs. Pakistan.
• 2006 - Contributed in a remarkable 410 runs partnership with Sehwag at Multan.
• 2006 - Leads India to snatch their first ever test victory on South African Soil.
• 2007 - Leads India in the 2007 Cricket World Cup, held in West Indies.
• 2007 - After India's tour of England, resigns from Indian captaincy.
• 2007 - Dropped from the Indian ODI Squad after poor series against Australia.
• 2008 - Reached the landmark of 10000 Test runs, in the first Test of the series against South Africa in Chennai on 29 March
• 2009 - Reached the catching record for a fielder in test cricket with 182 catches, in the third test against New Zealand in Wellington on 6 April.

rahul dravid -THE WALL

Rahul Sharad Dravid (Kannada: ರಾಹುಲ್ ಶರದ್ ದ್ರಾವಿಡ, Marathi: राहुल शरद द्रविड) pronunciation (help·info) (born 11 January 1973) is one of the most experienced cricketers in the Indian national team, of which he has been a regular member since 1996. He was appointed as the captain of the Indian cricket team in October 2005 and resigned from the post in September 2007. Dravid was honored as one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 2000. Dravid was also awarded the ICC Player of the Year and the Test Player of the Year at the inaugural awards ceremony held in 2004.

Known as the Wall due to his ability to bat for long durations, Dravid holds multiple world cricketing records. He is the second Indian batsman, after Sachin Tendulkar, and the fifth international player to have scored more than 11,000 runs in Test cricket. On 14 February 2007, he became the sixth player in the history of world cricket and the third Indian, after Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly, to score 10,000 runs in ODI cricket. He is the first and the only batsman to score a century in all ten Test playing nations. With more than 185 catches, Dravid currently holds the world record for the highest number of catches in Test cricket. has also been involved in more than 80 century partnerships with 18 different partners — a world record.