Rahul Dravid Scores First Test Century at Lord’s; Overtakes Ricky Ponting as 2nd Highest Run Score

Rahul Dravid can be quite the understated protagonist in the story of Indian cricket in the past decade and a half. Yet he underlined his stature in the team with another determined performance that had Indian fans, and those generally appreciative of cricket, toasting his success as India weathered the storm in the first Test at Lord’s in the India England series.

Rahul Dravid

Rahul Dravid could have had the limelight Sourav Ganguly had when both of them made their debut at Lord’s fifteen years ago as the future of Indian cricket. While Ganguly joined fellow Indian cricketers who scored a century on debut at Lord’s, Dravid missed his mark by five runs. Ever since Lord’s has remained an elusive dream for the man who has come to be known as the Wall of Indian cricket. But that has not bothered Dravid and rather upon reaching his thirty-third Test century at Lord’s on the third day of the first Test of the India England series, Dravid spoke fondly of his enjoying playing at Lord’s and being in London because of the knowledgeable crowd who genuinely share and enjoy knowledge about the game and are sincere in their praise, even if it is for a player from the opposition team.

On a day of high anticipation about Sachin Tendulkar’s impending hundredth international century, Dravid remained the primary driving force that kept India’s engines chugging despite the prospect of England having scored 474 runs in the first innings and India having to struggle once Tendulkar left the crease. Through it all, Dravid rallied the team around him, sometimes more relaxed in the company of Tendulkar and at other times, more determined when batting with the tail. Eventually it was a moment to cherish as Dravid scored a noteworthy century at Lord’s.

Not one to bother about milestones when the team’s cause is at stake, Dravid surpassed another milestone before the century, as he overtook Australia’s Ricky Ponting as the second highest Test run getter in the game, second only to Sachin Tendulkar. Although with Ponting still playing as his contemporary, the positions are expected to be swapped. But it still does not take away from the fact that Dravid is now ahead of Ponting after the third day’s play with 12,363 runs from 152 games.

What is even more remarkable in comprehending the value of this statistic is in the fact that too often, Dravid is scaled behind as one of India’s unsung heroes. This statistic only puts in perspective the kind of impact Dravid has had on Indian cricket since his debut in 1996. That it has coincided with a century that will now be locked in Lord’s glorious history makes this moment more special. That it has taken quite a few people by surprise, overlooking Dravid over Sachin Tendulkar’s milestone, this is not quite Dravid stealing some thunder from his Indian team mate but rather a case of him yet again being the silent nemesis that has troubled teams over the years over a period of time that is not for the weak hearted.