User:Achitnis/Rahul Dravid

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Rahul Sharad Dravid (Marathi:राहुल द्रविड)(Kannada:ರಾಹುಲ್‌ ಶರದ್‌ ದ್ರಾವಿಡ್‌) (born 11 January, 1973 in Indore, Madhya Pradesh) is an Indian cricketer, and the current captain of the Indian cricket team. He grew up in Bangalore, Karnataka. He started his international cricket career in 1996. He is, at present, ranked the 7th best Test batsmen by the ICC in world cricket and has the highest Test batting average of any Indian batsman in history. He became the 6th player in history and the 3rd Indian to score 10,000 runs in the ODI cricket.

Personal life
Rahul Dravid lives in Bangalore, Karnataka. A Maharashtrian brahmin, he was born in Indore to Sharad Dravid and Pushpa Dravid. He has a brother Vijay Dravid. Dravid's father worked for Kissan, a company known for jams and preserves. This earned him the nickname Jammy from his teammates at St. Joseph's, Bangalore. Rahul Dravid has a degree in commerce from St Joseph's College of Commerce.

Rahul Dravid married Vijeta Pendharkar, a surgeon from Nagpur, on Sunday, 4 May, 2003; their son, Samit Rahul Dravid, was born on 11 October, 2005.

Early years
Rahul Dravid first came to prominence whilst attending a summer coaching camp at the Chinnaswamy Stadium where his talents were spotted by former cricketer Keki Tarapore who was coaching at the clinic. He went on to score a century on debut for his school team and was selected for the U-15 Karnataka cricket team. Apart from batting, he also kept wickets.

He was selected to make his Ranji Trophy in February 1991 against Maharashtra in Pune (while still attending college at St.Joseph's College of Commerce in Bangalore), alongside future Indian teammates Anil Kumble and Javagal Srinath.

International career
Dravid made his international debut in one-dayers against Sri Lankan cricket team in the Singer Cup in the Singers ground in Singapore immediately after the World Cup in March 1996, replacing Vinod Kambli.

In the 18 months ending in mid-1998, he played in an away series against the West Indies, home and away series against Sri Lanka and a home series against Australia. He became the third Indian batsman after Vijay Hazare and Sunil Gavaskar to score centuries in both innings of a match during the 1999 New Year's Test match against New Zealand with 190 and 103* to force a draw, batting for a total of 653 minutes.

Dravid's 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. Of late, however, Rahul Dravid has defied early perceptions to become the mainstay of the Indian batting line-up in ODIs as well as in Tests. His nickname of 'The Wall' in Reebok advertisements has now become a tribute to his consistency.

Dravid has scored 23 centuries in Test cricket at an average of 58.75, including 5 double centuries. In one-dayers though he has an average of 40.05, and a strike rate of 70.70. 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.

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. Dravid is also 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.

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.

Achievements

 * Rahul Dravid led India to a historic Test series win, against the West Indies in their home soil in 2006. Since 1971, India had never won a Test series in the West Indies. This is also their first prominent series win outside the Indian subcontinent (barring the win against Zimbabwe in 2005) since 1986.
 * Under Dravid's captaincy the Indian team tied the previous record of most consecutive One-Day International wins for an Indian team thus equalling the record run that the Indian team had achieved under Sourav Ganguly in the 2003 World Cup in South Africa (8).
 * During his captaincy the Indian team broke the 14 match West Indies record for most consecutive won matches in One-Day Internationals while chasing a total. For this 17 match run, Dravid was the captain for 15 matches and Sourav Ganguly was the captain for the other two. This streak was broken on 5/20/06, when India lost to the West Indies by one run, at Sabina Park, Jamaica.
 * Rahul Dravid is the first captain to lead India to a Test match victory against South Africa on South African soil

Criticism

 * 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.
 * Rahul Dravid has had a mixed record when leading India in Tests. India lost the Karachi Test in 2006, giving Pakistan the series 1-0. In March 2006, India lost the Mumbai Test, giving England its first Test victory in India since 1985, enabling Flintoff's men to draw the series 1-1. While the loss in Karachi could be put down to several Indian batsmen playing badly, the defeat in Mumbai was arguably the result of Dravid's decision to bowl first on a flat dry pitch which later deteriorated and ended with an Indian collapse in the run chase.
 * After India failed to qualify for the Finals of the DLF Cup, Indian skipper Rahul Dravid was criticised by former all-rounder Ravi Shastri who said that he was not assertive enough and let Greg Chappell make too many decisions . When asked for a response, Dravid said that Shastri, while a 'fair critic', was 'not privy' to the internal decision-making process of the team.

International

 * India (current)
 * ACC Asian XI
 * ICC World XI

Indian first-class

 * Karnataka (current)

English county

 * Kent
 * Scotland

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 - 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.

Tests
Test Debut: vs England, Lord's, 1996 Rahul the legend
 * Dravid's best Test batting score of 270 was made against Pakistan, Rawalpindi, 2003-2004
 * His best Test bowling figures of 1 for 18 came against West Indies, St. John's, 2001-2002
 * He is only the third Indian to score over 8,000 Test runs, following Sunil Gavaskar and Sachin Tendulkar.
 * Rahul Dravid is the fastest batsman in the history of Test cricket to make 9,000 runs. The Indian captain brought up the landmark in his 176th innings playing against West Indies in 2006 and broke the earlier record of Brian Lara

One-Day Internationals
ODI Debut: vs Sri Lanka, Singapore, 1995-1996
 * Dravid's best ODI batting score of 153 was made against New Zealand, Hyderabad, 1999-2000
 * His best ODI bowling figures of 2 for 43 came against South Africa, Kochi, 1999-2000
 * 6th player and and 3rd Indian to score 10,000 runs. He broke the barrier by scoring 66 against Sri Lanka and levelling the series 1-1.

Awards

 * 1999: Ceat Cricketer of the 1999 World Cup
 * 2000: Wisden Cricketer of the Year 2000
 * 2004: Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy Winner (Awarded for ICC Player of the Year)
 * 2004: Padma Shri
 * 2004: ICC Test Player of The Year
 * 2006: Captain of the ICC's Test Team

Test Cricket Awards
Test Match - Man of the Series Awards:


 * {| border=0 cellpadding=3 cellspacing=1 width=100%

! # ! Series ! Season ! Series Performance
 * - style="background:#0000ff; color:#ffffff;"
 * - bgcolor="#87cefa"
 * 1
 * India in England Test Series
 * 2002
 * 602 (4 Matches, 6 Innings, 3x100, 1x50); 10 Catches
 * - bgcolor="#87cefa"
 * 2
 * Border-Gavaskar Trophy (India in Australia Test Series)
 * 2003/04
 * 619 Runs (4 Matches, 8 Innings, 1x100, 3x50); 4 Catches
 * - bgcolor="#87cefa"
 * 3
 * India in West Indies Test Series
 * 2006
 * 496 Runs (4 Matches, 7 Innings, 1x100, 4x50); 8 Catches
 * - bgcolor="#87cefa"
 * }

Test Matches - Man of the Match Awards:


 * {| border=0 cellpadding=3 cellspacing=1 width=90%

! S No ! Opponent ! Venue ! Season ! Match Performance
 * - style="background:#0000ff; color:#ffffff;"
 * - bgcolor="#87cefa"
 * 1
 * South Africa
 * Wanderers, Johannesburg
 * 1996/97
 * 1st Innings: 148 (21x4); 1 Catch 2nd Innings: 81 (11x4); 1 Catch
 * - bgcolor="#87cefa"
 * 2
 * West Indies
 * Bourda, Georgetown
 * 1996/97
 * 1st Innings: 92 (8x4, 1x6)
 * - bgcolor="#87cefa"
 * 3
 * England
 * Headingley, Leeds
 * 2002/03
 * 1st Innings: 148 (23x4) 2nd Innings: 3 Catches
 * - bgcolor="#87cefa"
 * 4
 * England
 * The Oval, London
 * 2002/03
 * 1st Innings: 217 (28x4); 3 Catches
 * - bgcolor="#87cefa"
 * 5
 * New Zealand
 * Motera, Ahmedabad
 * 2003/04
 * 1st Innings: 222 (28x4, 1x6); 2 Catches 2nd Innings: 73 (6x4); 1 Catch
 * - bgcolor="#87cefa"
 * 6
 * Australia
 * Adelaide Oval, Adelaide
 * 2003/04
 * 1st Innings: 233 (23x4, 1x6); 1 Catch 2nd Innings: 72* (7x4); 2 Catches
 * - bgcolor="#87cefa"
 * 7
 * Pakistan
 * Rawalpindi
 * 2003/04
 * 1st Innings: 270 (34x4, 1x6) 2nd Innings: 1 Catch
 * - bgcolor="#87cefa"
 * 8
 * Pakistan
 * Eden Gardens, Kolkata
 * 2004/05
 * 1st Innings: 110 (15x4, 1x6); 1 Catch 2nd Innings: 135 (15x4)
 * - bgcolor="#87cefa"
 * 9
 * West Indies
 * Sabina Park, Kingston
 * 2006
 * 1st Innings: 81 (10x4) 2nd Innings: 68 (12x4); 1 Catch
 * - bgcolor="#87cefa"
 * }

ODI Matches

 * Rahul Dravid has never won a Man of the Series award in ODI Cricket

ODI Matches - Man of the Match Awards:


 * {| border=0 cellpadding=3 cellspacing=1 width=80%

! S No ! Opponent ! Venue ! Season ! Match Performance
 * - style="background:#0000ff; color:#ffffff;"
 * - bgcolor="#87cefa"
 * 1
 * Pakistan
 * Toronto
 * 1996
 * 46 (93b, 3x4)
 * - bgcolor="#87cefa"
 * 2
 * South Africa
 * Kingsmead, Durban
 * 1996/97
 * 84 (94b, 5x4, 1x6); 1 Catch
 * - bgcolor="#87cefa"
 * 3
 * New Zealand
 * Taupo
 * 1998/99
 * 123* (123b, 10x4, 1x6)
 * - bgcolor="#87cefa"
 * 4
 * New Zealand
 * Eden Park, Auckland
 * 1998/99
 * 51 (71b, 5x4, 1x6)
 * - bgcolor="#87cefa"
 * 5
 * West Indies
 * Toronto
 * 1999
 * 77 (87b, 6x4, 2x6); 4 Catches
 * - bgcolor="#87cefa"
 * 6
 * Zimbabwe
 * Bulawayo
 * 2001
 * 72* (64b, 7x4, 1x6)
 * - bgcolor="#87cefa"
 * 7
 * Sri Lanka
 * Edgbaston, Birmingham
 * 2002
 * 64 (95b, 5x4, 1x6); 1 Catch
 * - bgcolor="#87cefa"
 * 8
 * UAE
 * Dambulla
 * 2004
 * 104 (93b, 8x4); 1 Catch, 1 Stumping
 * - bgcolor="#87cefa"
 * 9
 * West Indies
 * Dambulla
 * 2005
 * 52* (65b, 7x4), 1 Catch
 * - bgcolor="#87cefa"
 * 10
 * Sri Lanka
 * Vidharba CA Ground, Nagpur
 * 2005/06
 * 85 (63b, 8x4, 1x6); 1 Catch
 * - bgcolor="#87cefa"
 * 11
 * South Africa
 * Mumbai
 * 2005/06
 * 78* (106b, 10x4)
 * - bgcolor="#87cefa"
 * 12
 * Pakistan
 * Abu Dhabi
 * 2005/06
 * 92 (116b, 10x4); 1 Catch
 * - bgcolor="#87cefa"
 * 13
 * West Indies
 * Sabina Park, Kingston
 * 2006
 * 105 (102b, 10x4, 2x6); 1 Catch
 * - bgcolor="#87cefa"
 * }

Ball-Tampering Incident
In January 2004 Dravid was found guilty of ball tampering during an ODI with Zimbabwe. Match referee Clive Lloyd adjudged the application of an energy sweet to the ball as a deliberate offence although Dravid himself denied this was his intent. Lloyd emphasised that television footage conclusively showed the star Indian batsman intentionally applying a lozenge to the ball during the Zimbabwean innings on Tuesday night at the Gabba, which was in breach of clause 2.10 of the ICC's Code of Conduct.

Indian coach John Wright came out in defence of Dravid, stating that "It was an innocent mistake". Dravid did not comment on the incident due to ICC regulations, but former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly also stated that Dravid's act was "just an accident". Ricky Ponting had his own take on the incident, asserting "I don't think you'll see us doing anything like that,"

Biographies
Rahul Dravid has 2 biographies written on his career:


 * Rahul Dravid - A Biography written by Vedam Jaishankar (ISBN: 817476481X). Publisher: UBSPD Publications. Date: January 2004


 * The Nice Guy Who Finished First written by Devendra Prabhudesai. Publisher: Rupa Publications. Date: November 2005

Endorsments

 * Reebok: 1996 - present
 * Pepsi: 1997 present
 * Kissan: Unknown
 * Castrol: 2001 - present
 * Hutch: 2003
 * Karnataka Tourism: 2004
 * Max Life: 2005 - present
 * Bank of Baroda: 2005 - present
 * Citizen: 2006 - present
 * Skyline Construction: 2006 - present
 * Sansui: 2007 - present

Social Commitments:
 * Children's Movement for Civic Awareness (CMCA)
 * UNICEF Supporter and AIDS Awareness Campaign