Rahul Dravid : Back To The Pavilion

On the first day of the second test match between India and England, at Mohali, it was all cheers for Mr Dependable of Indian cricket batting- Rahul Dravid. As all expected, Rahul Dravid did make his critics come false what so ever. by scoring a fighting 136. All this happened in a test match which was a nerve testing one, especially for Rahul Dravid, whom the selectors had decided to send him down the batting order, or drop him from the coming test matches. None of which happened. And that wouldn't have been fair for a batsman of the caliber of Rahul Dravid, given his run in test cricket, that has lasted for more than a decade or so.

And it was as though the selectors, as well as captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni who was right not to have dealt with Rahul Dravid, in the ways that were said. So did the man himself prove on day 1 of the second test at Mohali, by scoring a much needed knock of 136, to put India in a commanding position, with the innings ending at 453 and Rahul Dravid having a 319 run partnership with Gautam Gambhir. Else, one could as to what would have been the fate of team India, in the Mohali test. A mere 134 run contribution from the blades of the rest put together. So, Dravid did need a pat on his back for this.

And if this knock was thought to be enough to douse the fire that was found to burn RahulDravid, there was yet another spark that was found to alight the doused fire, which came in the second innings of the Mohali test, where Rahul Dravid scored another 19 ball duck. This time being bowled by Stuart Broad. And at a time when the going wasn't too good either. None of the other Indian batsmen barring Gautam Gambhir led the Indian assault and the regained form of Rahul Dravid was the quint-essential of the day. But no. Anotherdisappointment was awaiting Rahul Dravid and his fans.

Nevermind that India have taken an unbeatable lead in the series, and, the second test is heading towards a draw, with most of the play delayed owing to bad light. And I feel that this would over shadow the downfall of Rahul Dravid. For the saying goes "All Is Well That Ends Well", when the series has not witnessed anything unwanted, I don't think that Rahul Dravid should do it either. And God knows as to when would India be playing their full fledged test series, with the series against Pakistan being canceled. So, according to the ICC tours table, the next major test series would be somewhere in March 2009, which is a long way from now. So, until then, there is no reason as to why Rahul Dravid shouldn't improve his performance.