Indian Tigers

"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." Rahul Dravid, on reaching 10,000 test runs landmark.

Batting great Rahul Dravid, the second most prolific batsman in the game's history and India's middle order bulwark for years, bid adieu to Test cricket, bringing down the curtains on a glorious 16-year career. The 39-year-old Dravid, a former India captain, became the first of the three ageing greats of Indian cricket, besides Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman, to retire in the aftermath of India's disastrous Test tour of Australia.

Rahul Sharad Dravid was born in Indore, Madhya Pradesh into a Maharashtrian Deshastha family living in Karnataka. His paternal ancestors were Iyers from Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu.He grew up in Bangalore, Karnataka. He has a younger brother, Vijay. Both the brothers grew up in a simple middle class atmosphere. Dravid's father worked for Kissan, a company known for producing jams and preserves and thus he earned the nickname Jammy from his teammates at St. Joseph's Boys' High School, Bangalore. His mother, Pushpa, was a professor of Architecture at Bangalore University. Rahul Dravid has a degree in commerce from St Joseph's College of Commerce Bangalore, Karnataka. On 4 May 2003, he married Dr. Vijeta Pendharkar, a surgeon from Nagpur and on 11 October 2005, their son, Samit, was born. On 27 April 2009, Vijeta gave birth to their second son, Anvay.

He is believed to be one of the greatest batsman of all time. His classical style of playing has made him one of the most unique classical batsman of all time. Most of the time in career, he was under the shadow of Sachin tendulkar. Sachin, Saurav and Rahul are the three best batsman India has ever produced. Rahul Dravid is known as the wall for his tight defense and awesome technique. Some say he is the last classical Test match batsmen the world has seen recently.

Rahul Dravid, the Wall of Indian Cricket team for decades is one man who hates to see a fall. Every single time, this man has risen out of ashes, just like a phoenix and went on to create histories after histories. This selfless man sees the benefit of his team before seeing his advantages. Rather, there is no such word like “personal benefit” in his own dictionary. He may not be a Tendulkar, who is applauded as GOD in the history of world cricket, but what is his fault that he was born in his era? Rahul is the only batsman who has scored more than 10,000 runs in both the formats after Sachin Tendulkar. But this is also true that there cannot be two gods at one time. So, this selfless creature has been given the status of “The Wall” and “Mr. Dependable” and has been kept behind curtains since ages.

Many emerging cricketers can only dream of what Rahul has done for the Indian cricket – fighting so many battles and bringing glory to his country! With his warrior like attitude and amazing approach to the game, he has and will become one of the greatest icons of the world cricket. He was the model modern Test cricketer. He had a solid defence, tremendous concentration and discipline but also possessed handsome shots. Dravid is also one of the game's true gentlemen”

Dravid and Ganguly both made their debuts on the tour of England in 1996. Wristy, shot-making players from the subcontinent have frequently been criticised for failing to adapt to difficult English conditions, where seam and swing are prevalent, but it was to be one of Dravid's most successful venues. On two separate visits to England he hit three centuries, a feat achieved by only one other batsman - a certain Sir Donald Bradman - and averaged 68 over four trips. Not that he confined his biggest runs to England. He was the first player to score centuries in each of the 10 Test-playing nations and reached three figures in each of his 17 years in Test cricket, bar the first and last. He shared in a world record 19 Test century partnerships with Tendulkar, became the first number three to score 10,000 Test runs and is the only outfielder to have taken more than 200 catches. Dravid's nickname 'The Wall' was devised because of innings such as the 270 he made in more than 12 hours against Pakistan in 2004, the longest by an Indian batsman in Test history.

Rahul Dravid against each opponent
Australia: 33 Tests, average 38
Bangladesh: 7 Tests, average 70
England: 21 Tests, average 60
New Zealand: 15 Tests, average 63
Pakistan: 15 Tests, average 53
South Africa: 21 Tests, average 33
Sri Lanka: 20 Tests, average 48
West Indies: 23 Tests, average 63
Zimbabwe: 9 Tests, average 97

No dream is ever chased alone. As I look back, I have many people to thank for teaching me and believing in me. My junior coaches in Bangalore and at various junior national camps inculcated in me a powerful love of the game which has always stayed with me, said Dravid. He ended his Test career with 13,288 runs.

My coaches at the international level have added to my craft and helped shape my personality. The physios and trainers worked hard to keep me fit -- not an easy job -- and allowed me to play late into my 30s. In the Indian team, I was fortunate to be part of a wonderful era when India played some of its finest cricket at home and abroad. Many of my teammates have become legends, not just in India but in the wider cricketing world. I admired them, learnt from them and I leave the game with wonderful memories and strong friendships. It is a great gift to have. Characteristic to his simple but dignified approach to his cricket, Dravid said he had tried to uphold the spirit of the game. My approach to cricket has been reasonably simple, it was about giving everything to the team, it was about playing with dignity and it was about upholding the spirit of the game. I hope I have done some of that. I have failed at times, but I have never stopped trying. It is why I leave with sadness but also with pride.

Initially considered a liability in the one-day arena, he re-invented his game over the years to meet the demands of the shorter format which he played from April 1996 to September 2011. He scored 10,889 runs from 344 ODIs with 12 centuries and 83 half centuries at an average of 39.16.

Career Highlights:

Tests

• He is only the 3rd Indian to score over 10,000 Test Runs, following Sunil Gavaskar and Sachin Tendulkar
• He is the fastest batsman in the history of Test Cricket to make 9,000 runs
• The 1st person to score a century in all 10 test playing nations.
• Appeared in 94 tests in succession since making his debut in 1996.
• He has the most number of catches in Test cricket (currently 200)
• He has faced the highest number of deliveries in Test Cricket
• Only the 3rd player in the world and 2nd Indian to score centuries in both innings of a test match.
• Only the 3rd Indian to hit 5 double hundreds
• Dravid is one among the only four batsmen to hit Test centuries in four consecutive innings.
• In the 21 Test matches India won under Sourav Ganguly's leadership, Dravid scored at a record average of 102.84 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, a current World Record.

One-Day Internationals

• Only the 3rd Indian to score 10,000 runs, following Sachin Tendulakar and Sourav Ganguly
• Only player to be involved in two 300+ partnerships, one with Sachin Tendular (331) and the other with Sourav Ganguly (318)
• Only one of the two Indians to be the top scorer in a World Cup (the other is Sachin Tendulkar)
• Has the record of not being dismissed for duck for 120 consecutive ODI matches

Career Statistics

Matches Runs Highest Score Average Strike Rate 100s 50s

Tests 150 12063 270 52.44 42.33 31 59

ODIs 339 10765 153 39.43 71.17 12 82

First-Class 282 22446 270 55.69 -- 62 113

List A 444 15147 153 42.54 -- 21 111

Twenty20 54 1187 75* 28.26 120.02 0 6

Awards and Recognition

• Arjuna Award : 1998
• Ceat Cricketer of the World Cup : 1999
• Wisden Cricketer of the Year : 2000
• Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy Winnner : 2004
• Padma Shri : 2004
• ICC Test Player of The Year : 2004
• Captain of the ICC's Test Team : 2006
• 3 Man of Series awards and 9 Man of the Match awards in Test cricket.
• 14 Man of the Matches in ODI matches

Memorable Innings

1. 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.
2. In 2001, he scored 180 while VVS Laxman scored 281 in a fifth-wicket stand of 376 as India defeated Australia after following on to end Australia's 16-Test winning streak, one of the most astonishing wins in Test Cricket.
3. In 2004, scored career best 270 against Pakistan at Rawalpindi to help India win the historic Test Series.

The cricket fraternity describes him as a “perfectionist” and next only to Sachin Tendulkar in greatness from his generation. There was and is only one Rahul Dravid, & there can be no other. It will be a big hole in Indian cricket to fill. He is a hero, in the way he plays cricket and conducts himself. He is the only cricketer after Bradman to do so well abroad. Rahul was like the Great Wall of China for the Indian team and it cannot be created again.

Dravid is obviously one of India's greatest batsmen — great in all conditions and one who scored runs everywhere. He's not only a great cricketer, but a great man.who have served the nation for 16 long years for the sheer love of the game.