Friday, September 16, 2011

To My Idol Rahul Dravid – A Tribute (Part 3)

Rahul Dravid gets a standing ovation from the crowd after a brilliantly crafted 69 in his final ODI innings
Image Courtesy: Cricinfo
It's exactly 9:45PM in my watch, Dravid batting at 69, realizes he needs to up the ante as only 8 overs to go. He has been trying to go for the big shots after reaching his half century but failing to middle the ball on most occasions, been edging quite a few balls. Clearly trying to get a move on and increase the scoring rate but not getting those boundaries as often as he would have liked. So this time goes on the front foot and tries to clear the mid-on boundary unselfishly as he has always been contributing not for his personal cause but for the team's cause for over 15 years, but misses the ball and it hits his stumps. My heart stopped for a moment. Rahul Dravid walks off the ground after playing his very last innings wearing the blue. He is being congratulated by his team mate Virat Kohli and all the English players for his outstanding contribution in this format of the game - such a nice gesture by the English players, showing their respect for the great man. As he walks off the ground to a standing ovation by the thousands gathered in the ground, silently tears start to stroll down my cheeks. I just couldn't control my emotions. I was witnessing my Idol wearing the Blue jersey for the very last time. He graciously acknowledges the crowd and walks off the ground. What a great end to a stellar innings and a brilliant career. 

I just hope that our bowlers would at least be able to defend a competitive score of 304 and win this match. Dravid deserves a good send-off. He has been humiliated, insulted, disrespected and used in the past. But a great player like Dravid deserves a nice send-off. Hopefully we can finally come together as a unit and win our first match in what has been a dismal tour and end this tour on a high. Hopefully three hours from now, tears would be strolling down my cheeks again and I just hope those tears would be happy tears. (If weather gods permit, that is. I am optimistic, let's hope for the best for Dravid's sake at least).

Rahul Dravid, one of the greatest Cricketers to have ever played the game, an absolute Legend, My Idol, My Inspiration. I will surely miss you not wearing the blue jersey and playing for India again as will millions of your fans and well wishers. Thank You for all the wonderful memories. I will always cherish them.

21 comments:

  1. He is brilliant..... his contribution to cricket iz enormous... he has alwayz played his best... bt his effort to put the team on d winning spree went in vain yestdae.... No matter we lost bt He won million hearts and we bid a respectful farewell to the star whole heartedly!!!! Cheers Rahul!!!

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  2. Thank you Maddy :) Dravid's contribution to Indian Cricket and World Cricket just can't be described in words. He never got his due and would never have got a fairy tale ending to his ODI career but that was a dream I was hoping would come true.I am happy he made a sizable contribution to the team in a typical Rahul Dravid manner. I was hoping against hope last night we would win this last match at least but it was not to be. I was hoping for some happy tears in the end, i did have tears in my eyes again but those were not happy tears unfortunately. I'm going to miss Dravid in ODI's more than anybody else. He deserved much better.

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  3. He will always be the greatest player. Unfortunately he was not given the respect he deserves. I want to see him continue doing well in test.

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  4. Yes Rajesh, I hope so too. Maybe a year or max two more years he can continue in Tests. No matter how long he plays now, every match will be special and to be cherished.

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  5. He is a legend, I wish my mom can read your posts, she is a big Rahul Dravid Fan...

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  6. Thank You so much Saru, its an honor for me receiving a comment from you. Oh I wish your mom gets to read my posts as well. Hope she likes it :)

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    1. It was wonderful re-reading it and feels so good to see how you make wonderful relations in Blogosphere. I was re- reading Arti's post last week and it was like walking down the memory lane. Thank you so much for posting this link on Indi. And a big thank you for creating Indi Family on Fb.:)

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    2. Your first comment on my blog was on this post and it was exactly 8 months ago but seems like a long long time since I have known you in the Blogosphere. Its been a wonderful relationship indeed. I feel honored every time I get a comment from you. :) Yes, we have become sort of a family on Indi so Indi Family was an apt name for the group. Thanks again for re-reading this post Saru. :)

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  7. I have been a great fan of Rahul Dravid since my childhood. He is really an awesome cricketer and a wonderful person as well. Great post :)

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  8. We really miss you dravid.
    India and the cricketing world missed the one and only legendary WALL.....

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    1. Yes, Dravid is one of a kind. A huge void in the cricketing world that may never be filled.

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  9. Hi Akshay

    Very Nice Tribute to your idol. Tough for someone like me who just joins the men in my family when the game is in the height of its frenzy on a cheer-India note to actually understand emotions of hard core fans like you. A great write up nevertheless.

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    1. Thank you so much Jayashree, your comments always puts a smile on my face. :) Yes, most of the times we get so attached to our sporting heroes, it becomes very hard to let go. Rahul Dravid is my Idol and will always be. :)

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  10. ...another nice tribute indeed!

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    1. Very kind of you DN to say that. Thank you so much. :)

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  12. Dravid! The wall! And the name says it all :). The amount of admiration I had on this amazing persona has always been intensified whenever I read about him. Here is one more such tribute which makes me respect him even more. Good work :)

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    1. Thank you for the nice words, Muktamanassu, that's a beautiful blog name. :) I read your post on Dravid too, nice to find another Dravid admirer. We will really miss him for sure. :)

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