London, Aug 24: While England had many heroes on the way to their 4-0 series sweep against India, only one Indian cricketer stood out for his determined performances for the floundering visitors. Rahul Dravid stood between India and complete ignominy as they lost the Pataudi Trophy, and the No. 1 Test ranking, to England in a completely one-sided series. While Dravid was adjudged Man-of-the-Series for India for his 461 runs from eight innings by the opposition coach Andrew Flower, Stuart Broad was picked for the honour on the England side by India coach Duncan Fletcher for his 25 wickets and 182 runs. Here’s a look at the accomplishments of the two cricketers in the recently concluded series.
Rahul Dravid: The last time India played in England, Dravid had led India to a 1-0 win over the hosts. This time around, the oldest member of the Indian team was the only saving grace as India capitulated meekly to a spectacular England side. Unassuming to a fault, Rahul Dravid refused to fuss over the many batting records that stood ahead of him at the start of the series. “The fact that I have been around now for 15 years and am still making a contribution and I’m still making a play - I think it is really about that. There are a lot of guys [who] are much better players than me [but] didn’t have the opportunity in the earlier years to play as many Test matches as I did. So you can’t look at numbers, to be honest.”
Dravid became the second highest run-scorer in Test cricket during the first Test at Lord’s, surpassing Ricky Ponting's tally of 12,363 runs. His 12775 runs (at the end of the series) have come in 273 innings from 157 Tests at an average of 53.00, 42.45 with 35 centuries and 60 half-centuries, 270 being his highest score. The century at Lord’s also helped him make it to the elite honours board, 15 years after he made his debut at the home of cricket, narrowly missing out on a century.
Dravid also achieved the distinction of scoring more runs than any other batsman in the fourth innings of a Test match during the Lord’s Test, moving ahead of West Indies batsman Brian Lara’s record tally of 1,440 runs. Considered one of the most technically sound batsmen ever, the former Indian skipper became the second highest run-getter in Test cricket during the course of the first Test at Lord’s.
As India lost to England by an innings and 242 runs at Trent Bridge in Birmingham, Dravid became the first batsman to reach the 10,000-run mark batting at the No. 3 position – a milestone that would have generated more excitement had India’s predicament in the Test been less dire.
Leaving his usual No. 3 spot in the batting line-up in the Test at The Oval, Dravid opened the innings for India in place of the injured Gautam Gambhir and carried his bat through the first innings with a magnificent unbeaten 146. In the process, he became only the third Indian batsman, after Sunil Gavaskar and Virender Sehwag, to carry his bat in a Test.
Scoring his 35th Test hundred at The Oval, Dravid surpassed Sunil Gavaskar’s tally of 34 Test tons. He also became the only overseas batsman, after the legendary Sir Don Bradman, to have scored three centuries in England twice.
In the same Test, the duo of Dravid and Tendulkar surpassed the run tally of West Indies pair Gordon Greenidge and Desmond Haynes, who had aggregated 6482 runs in 148 innings. The two Indian players already hold the world record for most century partnerships.
But the actual story of Dravid resistance can’t be understood by numbers alone. Match after match, day after day, the batsman stood firm, presenting the only real defense against a relentless England pace attack. Known to be a great slip fielder, Dravid suffered an indifferent series on that front. But he more than made up for his fielding lapses with his resolute batting in the face of a formidable attack that regularly claimed the rest of the vaunted batting line-up. Given out caught by third umpire Steve Davis despite inconclusive TV replays in India’s last innings of the series, the batsman was characteristically dismissive of the potential controversy, conceding he may have nicked the ball.
A cricketer, an ambassador and a thorough gentleman, India’s silent trooper for over 15 years has overwhelmed followers of the game over four character-revealing Tests. The gruelling English summer for India has been the perfect summation of Dravid’s exemplary career.
Stuart Broad: The 25-year-old England pacer who was fighting to break into the England side before the start of the series ironically ended it as the side’s biggest hero; with six wickets in the first innings of the first Test at Lord’s, Broad was destined to rule over England’s dream series against the brittle India.
Contributing with the bat and ball on his home ground in the second Test at Trent Bridge, Nottingham, Broad picked six wickets in the first innings, including a hat-trick. As if that weren’t enough, he scored 64 runs in the England innings to prove his all-round skills. He then returned to score 44 runs and claim two wickets in the second innings. Winning the Man-of-the-Match award for his feats, Broad had more than justified his selection to the team spoilt for choice.
Broad’s form continued to shine as he picked six wickets at the third Test at Edgbaston and four in the last Test at The Oval.
Named Man-of-the-Series over equally illustrious team-mates and double centurions like Ian Bell, Kevin Pietersen and Alastair Cook, Broad attributed his success to a change in technique. “We recognised at the start of the series [that] I needed to bowl slightly fuller, bring the stumps into play, and that working at Lord’s obviously gave me confidence for the rest of the series.”
Bowling his heart out every single innings of every match and looking to contribute with runs lower down the order, Broad has proved his worth as a fine all-round cricketer who deserves a berth in the Test squad for his brand of attacking cricket.
