Dravid finds his second wind; not a minute too soon

The next time someone asks Mahendra Singh Dhoni, ‘How long do you think Rahul Dravid will be around?’ Don’t be surprised if his answer is, ‘As long as he wants to be.’ At 38 years and 201 days, he is the world’s oldest Test cricketer, but over the last two series, he has racked up the kind of numbers that would make any skipper proud. But his innings against England at Trent Bridge on Saturday illustrated just why India needs him to hang around until an apt replacement can be found; or at least as long as he wants to… the replacements can wait. This man isn’t worth letting go of. On current evidence, Dravid’s got his second wind. As a player who struggled with form and confidence for most of last year, Dravid had been nervous. But this innings, more than anything else, will give him the confidence to persevere. And in his case, that’s all it takes. As long as he’s there, India know all is not lost. The crowd at Trent Bridge witnessed an innings off the old block – the kind that had Geoffery Boycott gushing in the commentary box and Sourav Ganguly repeating over and over again, ‘This is the Dravid that we knew all along. He is still not as good as he was at his best. But he is getting there.’ [caption id=“attachment_51262” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Dravid hit his 34th century on Saturday. AP”]  [/caption] Among overseas batsmen who’ve scored at least a thousand runs in England, only Sir Donald Bradman has a higher average. And that speaks volumes for his character as a batsman. Batting is rarely ever a walk in the park in England – the ball is always moving about, rain can spice things up and the bowlers generally work up a decent pace. But through all of that, Dravid persists. On Saturday, he took hits to the body – a particularly bad one to the right wrist but he popped a painkiller, put on the helmet and walked back to man the battle stations again. That’s the kind of player he is. “That hurt the right wrist, it spasmed for 5-6 overs. It was bit of a tricky period and for sometime I did not have much feeling in my right hand. “Once we got through to lunch, it eased out. It is still paining but not much. Towards the end, I was cramping up as it was a hot day and I was on field for long time,” Dravid revealed. And despite the pain, Dravid scored 67 off the last 83 balls he faced with the old ball. He hasn’t forgotten his lessons. When the opposition is down, you have to make the most of it. Yuvraj Singh’s aggression took some pressure off Dravid but the former India skipper was ready to make his opportunities count as well. Asked about the secret of his temperament and focus, he said, “When in form, your judgment improves, confidence is there. I did play and miss a lot but I wanted to make it count, to have the fortitude and discipline to make it count. “I try not to think, play one ball at a time. I try to play each and every ball with utmost concentration. I want to be fully present to play one ball at a time. I have been always calm at the crease,” he said. When he reached his 34th ton, he equaled Sunil Gavaskar and Brian Lara in the list of highest century makers in Test cricket. Only Ricky Ponting, Jacques Kallis and Sachin Tendulkar lie ahead. For the short time that he batted with Tendulkar yesterday, it is the first time the two leading run scorers in Test history have batted together since 1911/12. With all the hype that surrounds Tendulkar, it was not difficult to realise that he is the leading scorer in Test cricket. But when did Dravid get there? He’s been in the shadows far too long; he’s been the unsung hero far too long; he’s been the bridesmaid far too long. This is his moment to shine and come the second innings, there is no man that India would count on more. Dravid would know and realise that. But he would soak up the pressure and make it easier for his team-mates which is why India’s collapse hurt him. “We had them 124 for eight yesterday and today we were 267 for four and we collapsed. In a tight game, on a tough wicket in a low-scoring game, these things are important. It’s 50-50, even-stevens now.” The battle isn’t over, not by a long shot but thankfully for India, Dravid’s up for it.