Not Just Another Cricket Match

Picture Courtesy: Google Images

I was looking forward to this day for the past three years. Of all the match-ups in the whole season, this was the only contest I really wanted to see. In 2011, this particular match was a complete washout because of the rain. Last year, I was not even in a position to walk when the match took place, but I was happy because we demolished them that day. This year, there were no obstacles, or so I thought when I booked the tickets to watch the IPL match between Rajasthan Royals and the Royal Challengers Bangalore on the 20^th of April. One team in which my idol, Rahul Dravid, plays at present; versus the other which betrayed him. Nothing would make me happier than seeing my idol in person and him being the victorious captain of a team against his former team on his ‘home’ ground.

This day was special to me in more ways than one. Not only was I ecstatic to watch my idol live, but it was also going to be my first ever “Live” match. Yes, I know it sounds very shameful that I had never watched a cricket match in a stadium before, but there’s always a first for everything. My passion for my beloved cricket is unparalleled, but I always preferred watching the game from the comforts of my home rather than watching it live in the stadium. 

I never saw Dravid bat live in a Test Match in a stadium, which is probably my only regret as far as my beloved game is concerned. So, this particular match became all the more special as it might possibly be Dravid’s last competitive match on his home ground. He may not come back to play another season, although I said the same thing last year as well. So, there is a glimmer of hope of Dravid coming back next year, but it all depends on how he feels—mentally and physically. He would be 41 by then. Anyway, if this was going to be his swan song, then I had to be there at any cost.

There was a little drama even before the start of the match, nothing related to the Cricket of course. Because of the blasts that happened in Bangalore just three days before the match, the security was beefed up around the city, especially for this match. The stadium had turned into a fortress, almost.

The day finally arrived and I, along with my buddy Suraj, made my way to the stadium. My first experience inside a stadium was absolutely amazing. My excitement reached its peak when I saw my idol for the very first time. Dravid walked into the stadium in his training gear and started analyzing the pitch as he always does before the start of a match. There was a huge roar when he entered the stadium by a sparsely filled crowd.

My eyes were firmly set on him as I watched his every move. I was absolutely awestruck, as I couldn’t believe I was watching him live for the first time. The actual start of the match was still two hours away, while Dravid and his teammates continued their practising session. After analyzing the pitch, Dravid got his pads on and started hitting a few balls in the nets. Although he was practising at the far end of the stadium as compared to where I was seated, I could still feel his absolutely commendable work ethic. This wasn’t new to me; he has been doing that for the past 17 years. 

Even after retiring from international cricket a year ago, he still looked great physically. Dravid taking a break from his commentating duties after the recently concluded India-Australia Test series to prepare for this year’s IPL shows his commitment and determination. I was privileged to witness all that live for the very first time.

Virat Kohli won the toss and RCB chose to field first. Any team chasing always has a distinct advantage on this ground, and hence I was expecting RR to bat last, but it wasn’t to be. We needed a good start from Watson and Rahane but they fell very early in the innings. The run rate didn’t even touch six until the 8^th over. Dravid was struggling but was fighting it out. I finally got to witness my idol bat live, but at that moment, I was so involved in the match, I didn’t even realize it. 

The run rate was slowly starting to pick up, and Dravid also started to find his shots, which gave me immense joy and happiness. That feeling just can’t be described in words. His flicks, his straight drives, his cover drives, his backfoot punches down the ground—absolutely sublime. While many of those shots found the fielders, it was pure bliss to watch him play those shots. I was absolutely gutted when Dravid holed out for a fighting 35. It was an absolute privilege to witness my idol bat, and I was content with the fact that he fought it out in the middle when the going was tough and again came up with rock-solid innings. When Dravid fell, the score was 97 for 4, and the rest of the team just dramatically collapsed. We eventually holed out for an inadequate score of 117. I wanted to leave the field at that instant, but there was still some optimism left inside me. But honestly, I knew our fate was sealed.

In the second half, even though I knew what the result would be eventually, I still kept rooting for my team till the very end and made some RCB fans around me very angry. I observed Dravid field all the way through; he would mostly field in the first slip or the mid-off. I was keenly observing his mannerisms as I didn’t know if or when I would get that chance again. I learnt a lot of new things about my idol that day. Something that would stay with me for a long long time.

For many, it was just another cricket match. For me, it was something way beyond. Thank you, Rahul Dravid for all the memories.

Match Scorecard: RR vs RCB

My Idol Rahul Dravid Retires - A Nostalgic Tribute

"I leave with sadness but also with pride"
Image Source: Rediff.Com

This will be extremely difficult for me to write, my mind is completely blank and I absolutely have no idea what to say. I feel numb and emotionless. I didn’t even cry when I heard him say those words, I didn’t believe it then and many hours later I still can't believe it. I am still in denial. It still hasn’t hit me yet; maybe I need a lot more time to finally accept the fact that I will no longer be seeing my Idol and my Inspiration from the past 16 years on a cricket pitch wearing the white jersey to represent India again. Yes, my Idol Rahul Dravid announced his retirement from International Cricket today.

I feel devastated. Even though I was expecting it for sometime now, knowing Dravid for all these years I knew he wouldn’t just hang up his boots after just one bad series. I knew he will take his time and contemplate on his future and he will go out on his own terms before someone else asks him to. And he did just that.

I don’t feel any emotion right now as I type this. I don’t know whether I am sad or confused, I just feel weird. My emotions have clouded me once again. Rahul Dravid does that to me all the time. But I shall try to recover and try to put some meaningful words to my thoughts on a precious day like today, instead of rambling something meaningless.

My first image of Dravid was in 1996 when I saw a photo of him in a newspaper. This was the day he made his Test debut against England and went on to score a memorable 95 in his debut Test. It was heartbreaking he didn’t get his 100 on debut but those 95 runs were enough for me to become a fan of Dravid. And I have idolized him ever since. I still remember the exact moment when Dravid scored his maiden Test and ODI centuries against South Africa and Pakistan respectively. 

I became nostalgic for a while remembering all the numerous fights I used to have in school with anyone who used to say a word against Dravid. In 1998, Dravid was dropped from the ODI team citing he was not suited to play the shorter format of the game. He was ridiculed and made fun of for his supposedly slow batting. He still had a strike rate in the higher 60’s at that time which was not that bad, so I had no idea what those fools were talking about. Most part of my High School life consisted of defending Dravid and his prowess in any format of the game. Sometimes those healthy discussions about whether Dravid should be a part of the ODI side or not used to turn violent and we almost used to end up giving physical blows to each other and most of whom were my closest friends back then. Our class consisted of 53 students in my 8th Standard and I was the only true blue Dravid fanatic. All the 52 others were Sachin fanatics of course. That year Sachin was having the best year of his career and Dravid was made to sit out of most ODI’s and played only Tests. I was clearly outnumbered but still fought hard quite literally to defend my Idol. 

The following year, Dravid made a stunning return to the ODI’s by scoring a century against New Zealand to earn back the place in the Indian ODI side and also went on to become the highest scorer in the 1999 World Cup, shutting each and every critics’ mouth over his prowess in the 50-Over format. And in my class, no one even dared to say a word against Dravid after that. All my friends even started calling me Rahul Dravid, the name kind of became a code word to call me out of an examination hall, in particular. I still remember back in 1999, my friends shouting from outside the exam hall in frustration, “Hey, Rahul Dravid come out man, how much longer are you gonna write?.” I also believed in the notion - “slow and steady wins the race”. Just like my Idol.

Rahul, ever the team man always sacrificed his personal gains for his team. He kept wickets for 4 years so that we could include an extra batsman in the side. Just because he kept wickets and also played the role of a No.6 Batsman, it gave numerous chances to up and coming young Cricketers like Yuvraj Singh and Mohammad Kaif to cement their place in the Indian team. Also this move of Dravid keeping wickets was instrumental in India reaching the finals of the World Cup in 2003.

When he was called to open the batting in some extremely tough batting conditions, Dravid has always put his hand up for the team and withered the storm. He has batted in each and every position conceivable. I was really upset when he was demoted down the order in that historic Kolkata Test in 2001 where Laxman was the No.3 batsman. Dravid came in at No.6 and joined Laxman with India following on and staring at a huge innings defeat. Well, I guess I need not mention what happened later as that glorious partnership between Dravid and Laxman has been and will always be etched in every Indian’s minds and hearts forever.

In 2002, another outstanding innings came from Dravid in the Headingley Test against England. Dravid’s stunning 148 on a seamer’s deck was the benchmark for everything that followed, not just the result of that particular match, but also the fortunes of the Indian team’s performance overseas for many years that followed. It was also the first time the three stalwarts of the Indian team, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid scored centuries in a single innings. Maybe Dravid’s century was overshadowed by the centuries of the other two greats but if it wasn’t for Rahul's magnificent defiance in the initial stages of the innings on a bowler friendly track, it would have been almost impossible for the famed Indian middle order to showcase their mastery. Dravid was the reason we were able to win that match by an innings. He was aptly named the Man of the Match, deservedly so.

The man who never stopped trying
Image Source: Rediff.Com.

I remember Dravid shedding a tear or two when he was speaking to Harsha Bhogle after another historic victory against Australia in Adelaide in 2003 where Dravid was once again in a stunning 300+ run partnership with Laxman. This victory gave India their first Test win on Australian soil in 23 years. That was the very first time I saw my Idol showcase any emotion on or off a cricket pitch, at least in front of the camera. It was a really precious moment which I can never forget, his voice choking a bit while expressing what that victory really meant to him and the team.

I will also cherish all the arguments and discussions I used to have in many Cricket forums on Orkut and elsewhere. I know Sachin’s fans were still miffed about Dravid declaring that innings in Multan in 2004 when Sachin was batting on 194. Dravid was very clear as a captain that team’s victory is more important than a player's personal milestones, even if that player was Sachin Tendulkar. I have argued with many Sachin fanatics defending Dravid’s decision of declaring that innings although most of those arguments turned futile.

Dravid again proved why he is the team man when he scored his career high score of 270 in Rawalpindi against Pakistan in 2004. More importantly, I remember the way he got out. India had already got enough runs on the board to declare the innings and bowl Pakistan out, twice. But Rahul Dravid, a self-less team man, realized his team needed some more quick runs, so he went after the Pakistani bowling attack and got bowled while attempting to play a reverse-sweep when he was on 270. He had a great chance of scoring a Triple Hundred which may have been once in a lifetime opportunity but Dravid, never played for personal milestones. His mammoth effort gave India their first ever Test series win in Pakistan.

Critics say his Captaincy was a failure, maybe the statistics show that his captaincy stint from November 2005 until September 2007 was average. But in this very period we held the World Record of chasing to win most number of matches consecutively in ODI’s. A Test series win in West Indies and England and a Test match win in South Africa. 

Dravid was absolutely outstanding in the fourth and final Test in Jamaica against the West Indies in 2006. He scored 81 and 68 in the match on a really difficult pitch where no other Indian batsman even came close to scoring a half century. His dogged determination was instrumental in India winning that test match and with that, the series. A rare series win outside the sub-continent, first in 35 years against a major opposition. These wins kind of removed the tag Indians carried for a long time, ‘Poor Travelers’. 

The World Cup in 2007 was extra special for me because my Idol was in-fact the Captain. I wanted him to have the tag of a World Cup winner, that too as a Captain before he decided to hang up his boots, but those dreams came crashing down as India was shockingly knocked out in the group stage itself. The memories still haunt me.

In 2008, when he was going through probably the most terrible phase in his Test career, I prayed each and every day hoping Rahul will be back on track soon and would definitely recover from this slump. Many skeptics were already gunning for this throat and asking for him to retire. But Dravid fought back that lean phase and made a stunning return to form. He remained consistent for the next four years until his retirement, today. Only blemish would be the South African tour of 2010-11 and the tour of Australia in 2011-12 where he performed way below his potential averaging less than 30. He even made a brief appearance in ODI’s in 2009 and 2011, finally announcing his retirement from the shorter formats of the game last year.

The year 2011 will be remembered for Dravid’s remarkable return to form where he scored centuries against England and West Indies, five in all. Also went past 1,000 runs in a calendar year for the third time in his Test Career. Dravid scored three unforgettable centuries in England, two of them while opening the batting and facing some stunning and ruthless English bowling attack. Dravid was the only batsman to score a century for India in that series, aggregating 461 runs while no other Indian batsman went past 250 runs. I can never forget Dravid opening the innings in the Final Test at The Oval, he fought like a warrior as his team mates succumbed to the pressure again. Dravid kept on fighting and carried his bat all the way through. He became only the 7th Batsman in history to carry his bat through the innings and walk back in just after a few minutes to a follow-on. Just thinking about this moment, gives me goose bumps.

Thank you, Rahul Dravid for being what you are, a thorough Gentleman, a Role Model, an Icon and most importantly, a great human being. I will miss your batting, your amazing catches in the slips, the way you dab the ball gently and run to the non-striker’s end for a quick single with your bat being held only by your right hand and not both hands. I will miss seeing you running behind the ball to stop a boundary; I will miss the look of determination in your eyes while you are chasing that ball. The way you examine the pitch before the start of a match, I love your love for such details. Your shy yet candid press interviews which shows your intellectual ability. The way you mention “obviously” before or in the middle of almost every sentence to clear your thought process. I will miss those days when I used to go to school in the morning on a match day, you had already walked into bat, I come back from school and you are still batting; which used to make my day. I will miss when someone tells me, the score is 28 for no loss and I gasp and say, “Ahhh, wish it was 28 for one”, so that I can watch you bat. Nothing in the world gives me more happiness and satisfaction than watching you bat which I will miss the most. I can sit and watch you bat all day long, I can watch you build an innings, one ball at a time, brick by brick in a pain-staking manner in the only way you can, which would give me immense pleasure and happiness.

I will miss you Dravid, Thanks for all the wonderful memories. I will cherish them for a lifetime. You did leave the game better than you found it.

Your Greatest Fan,
Akshay Kumar G

Happy 39th Birthday - My Idol Rahul Dravid

Happy Birthday Rahul :)

Picture Courtesy: Rajasthan Royals Official Fan Club

One of the greatest Cricketers ever to have played the game, the one who has been an inspiration and role model to many budding Cricketers during the course of his 15 year International Cricket career, turns 39 today.

I am going through really strange and mixed emotions right now because from the past few days I feel like I am about to lose something precious, something which has been a part of me for a long long time. I get a strange feeling Rahul Dravid is going to announce his retirement soon, maybe as soon as the ongoing series against Australia concludes by the end of this month (if rumors are to be believed). I know he is 39 now, he can't carry on forever but still I really can't fathom the fact that I am not going to see my Idol play Test Cricket much longer. I know that retirement will be least of the worries on Dravid's mind right now. He would really want to concentrate on the remaining two tests and level the series by winning the next two tests. It will be a daunting task indeed (well almost impossible), considering India's poor showing with both bat and ball in this series. I am probably not making any justice to this post by cribbing only about Dravid's retirement on a day I am supposed to be happy. My thoughts are very emotionally clouded right now and I just can't think straight.

I had a lot of things planned to post here today. I had been collecting picture cut outs and articles of Dravid from various News Papers and Magazines from maybe 1997 on wards. I was planning to post all the pics here, all my collection over the years but heartbreakingly I can't seem to find those precious pictures and articles. I don't remember where I have kept them since we moved to a new place a couple of years ago. I know it is in a safe place in my home but I can't seem to find them right now. I am so distraught and frustrated. I am sitting here and typing this and my heart feels heavy.

Anyways I am not going to bore anyone with my whining anymore on this post. I am going to conclude with this lovely tribute to Dravid on his 39th Birthday, made by a fellow Dravid fan. :)

I'll try to enjoy this day and not worry about Dravid's retirement even though its hard for me not to think about it. No matter how much longer he plays now, I'll cherish each and every moment.  

Happy 39th Birthday, Rahul Dravid. Thank you for being my Idol and my Inspiration since the past 15 years and will always remain so. :)