An excerpt from our cover story on Rahul Dravid During times of strife, Phil Jackson's Chicago Bulls had a simple philosophy – "Get the ball to Michael". Jordan was not only the supreme athlete, he had nerves that were shock-proof and frazzle-free no matter how stressful the situation. The true mark of sporting excellence lies in the ability to perform in clutch situations and Jordan did that so many times that he transcended greatness.

In recent times, Rahul Dravid has become Indian cricket's Cometh-The-Hour man. Never was this better illustrated than in the memorable victory at Headingley, where he triumphed in a battle of wills against an all-seam attack in testing conditions on the opening day. The similarity to Jordan ends there though. On the larger canvas, on a mass adulation scale, Dravid will always play Scottie Pippen to Sachin Tendulkar's Jordan. The tattoos, peroxide-bleached hair and bristling attitude may not be part of the Dravid persona, but he is, without question, the worker ant beyond compare. And those who know their fine leg from their silly point would know the importance of his contribution to Indian cricket's recent revival.

Wisden Asia Cricket caught up with Dravid in Colombo on the eve of India's first game in the ICC Champions Trophy (he made an invaluable 71) and got him to talk about half-a-dozen innings that have defined his career, and helped Indian cricket chart a smoother course.

148 v England, Headingley, August 22-23, 2002
India had saved the previous match at Nottingham on the last day, but England had dominated the first two Tests and were odds-on favourites at this very English ground. India defied conventional wisdom and elected to bat first. Dravid and Sanjay Bangar defied the swing, swerve and odd bounce to set the platform for a huge score. Then the Indians bowled England out twice to square the series.

Dravid's take
We had to win the Test to keep our hopes of success in the series alive. When we looked at the wicket before the game we knew that our best chance was to play two spinners, and get them to bowl last, which meant we would have to bat first in difficult conditions on the first morning. It was going to be a gamble, but one we had to take.

You knew what your responsibilities were as soon as you walked in: the ball was seaming around and there was some swing too. We had lost an early wicket and the immediate target was to ensure that we didn't lose one more till tea, by which time, hopefully, the conditions would improve. Sanjay [Bangar] and I played very few shots early on, and I left as many balls as I could. I tried to make them bowl at me, instead of reaching out for the ball.

As the innings wore on, I was able to relax a bit more. But on a track like that, you could never be fully at ease. There was some playing and missing early on, but I think I made the best use of my luck. Things got better later in the day, and after tea you could feel the momentum shift.

For Sanjay to bat till the second new ball was a fantastic achievement and that partnership was quite crucial. He showed loads of patience and great temperament and never panicked or lost his cool.

After tea, the English players' shoulders dropped a bit when they realized it was going to be hard work from there on. After getting to my hundred, the plan was to keep going and I was very satisfied with the way things went. Conditions were at their toughest early on and I was able to overcome those and cash in later.

It was a fairly difficult pitch on the first day, though it eased up later. The bounce was uneven at times and the early dampness caused the seam to create a few impressions on the pitch. As it started drying out, these became almost like divots and the ball's trajectory was uneven when it hit those spots.

The attack was pretty good. [Matthew] Hoggard swung it quite appreciably at times. [Andy] Caddick bowled just back of a length and hit the seam. Alex Tudor bowled a fine spell on the first day and gave us some uncomfortable moments. Maybe they could have pitched it up and made us play more, especially in the first session.

Dileep Premachandran is an assistant editor with Wisden Asia Cricket and Wisden.com India

For the full article, get your copy of Wisden Asia Cricket, October 2002

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