Rahul Dravid vs England in 2011 - part 2

If you have missed part-1 Click here

As we have seen about the first test of Pataudi Trophy in the last post, India lost their first test against England by 196 runs, despite Dravid's century. Now coming to the second Test (July 29- Aug 2,2011) played at Trent Bridge stadium, Nottingham, Our Indian captain MS. Dhoni won the toss and elected to field first. It was Andrew Strauss and Alastair Cook who opened the innings for England. India started off well by taking quick wickets of two vital England players Alastair Cook and Jonathan Trott which brought the score of England to 23/2. Then in came Kevin Pietersen. Strauss and KP had a 50 run partnership which boosted England's score to 73/2. Just between next 15 runs, England lost their next three wickets bringing down the score to 88/6. Praveen kumar took two among them and the other was taken by Sreesanth. At tea on Day 1, England's score became 124/8 after losing Bresman and Ian Bell. At that time as everyone was guessing that England's 1st innings may fall to 150, in came Stuart Board to surprise everyone with his knock of 64 in 66 balls which comprised 9 boundaries. His innnings brought England's score to 221 all out from 124/8.

Image Courtesy : ESPNcricinfo

India started their 1st innings with only 15 overs to spare on Day 1. India sent in Dravid and Abinav Mukund for opening the innings. As Abinav was out for a duck, Laxman came in to bat along with Dravid. India finished Day 1 with a score of 24/1. On Day 2 there was a 93-run partnership between Laxman and Dravid. As Laxman got out for 54 runs, Dravid crossed his half century after lunch. Soon after that India lost Sachin and Raina. As the wickets was stumbling at one end, Dravid and Yuvraj kept up the scoreboard increasing. Yuvraj crossed the half century mark boosting up the score for India. Meanwhile at the other end, playing his temperament innings Dravid scored his yet another brilliant century after Tea on Day 2. That was the second hundred for him in that series(Pataudi Trophy 2011).

Highlights of India vs England, Day 2 of second test, 2011 :

Video Courtesy :  you tube and Star sports 

His innings of 117 runs comprised 15 boundaries which included some exuberant shots in the cover, square leg, long on, long off and at third man. It was a treat to all the cricket fans. Meanwhile at the other end Stuart Board of England took his career best of 6 wickets which restricted India's score to 288. Dravid was the ninth wicket to fall.

Another notable event took place in the second test on Day 3. There was a hotchpotch situation before Tea interval on Day 3. The last ball bowled before tea has created that. Ian bell who was finished running and returning back to the pavilion has been termed with run out whixh he was actually not aware about that. Then before Ian Bell and Andrew Strauss could meet the umpire to enquire about this , Dhoni has shown his sportsmanship by asking Ian bell to continue bat. This decision has got more praises for Dhoni which has to be followed by every player.

For more news on this incident, click here

Later on England had batted flamboyantly and scored a huge total of 544.Then India chasing a target of 477 stumbled for 158. Hence once again Dravid's innings gone in vain. But on his career front, this century was his 34th century which came in at right time.

Rahul Dravid's Speech as a Chief guest at BITS Pilani Convocation 2013, Goa

Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS Pilani) is one of the well known deemed institutions in India. The institution has its campuses at Hyderabad, Goa, Pilani and in Dubai. This institute is said to be fully residential and it was started in 2004 and was officially inaugurated in 2006. The first ever convocation of the institute in Goa campus was said to be held in 2011. And the convocation for the year 2013 was held on 11th of this month(11-Aug-2013). The highlight of the convocation ceremony was the presence of Mr.Consistency 'Rahul Dravid' :) Just imagine how lucky were those 2013 batch graduates of BITS !!!!!

It is obvious that every graduate would be delighted about his/her convocation day, but that day at BITS with Rahul Dravid as chief guest would have been a double delight for everyone there. To have such an inspiring person who has earned respect both on and off the field , is really a remarkable and memorable moment for all those who aspire to succeed in life.

Here I'm sharing his speech which lasted only about 12 mins, but he has conveyed his message eloquently in that short time.

Rahul Dravid vs England in 2011 - part 1

The Indian Cricket Team toured England for the season July - September , 2011. The tour comprised of four Test matches, five One Day Internationals and a lone T20 battle. Before the start of the Test match series 'Pataudi Trophy' the team had some first class matches. Coming to the first Test (July 21 - 25, 2011) at the Mecca of Cricket, 'Lord's stadium'-London, it was the 2000th Test match in the international cricket. India won the toss and elected to field first. England scored 127/2 at the end of Day 1 play. Meanwhile the match was interrupted with intermittent rains. There was a blow to the Indian team at the end of Day 1 as Zaheer khan suffered from hamstring injury. At lunch on Day 2, England scored 217/3 with Pietersen and Bell playing at their best. After lunch, Dravid kept the wickets since Dhoni tried his hand in bowling. Dhoni has bowled 10 overs in that match (both the innings). Whenever Dhoni went for bowling, Dravid did his best in wicket-keeping once again stood by his team whenever they are in need of him.

At one end , Praveen Kumar was bowling at this best and took a five - wicket haul and at the other end, Pietersen was playing his temperament innings hitting the ball at right areas to reach his double century which had boosted the score of England. England declared the innings at 474/8 after tea break on Day 2, where Kevin Pietersen was unbeaten at 202. Then openers Gautam Gambhir and young Abhinav Mukund started the first innings for India. At the end of Day 2 India were 17/0 at stumps. On Day 3, India had quite a normal start with openers shared a 50 run partnership. Then gone the wicket of Gambhir when India was at 63. The very next wicket of Mukund went quickly and India lost two wickets before the lunch on Day 3.

 

Rahul Dravid's inspiring speech at the Sharada Mandir School, Goa

Hi all. Today I would like to share one of the wonderful speech of Dravid at the Sharada Mandir school at Goa last year. Rahul Dravid has been invited for distributing the Annual awards to the students of Sharada Mandir School on August 4th,2012. There during his speech, he shared three most important factors with the students that has helped him in his career and life.

Image Source : My collections from the Web


Here's the link of his entire speech : http://oheraldo.in/News
Source : Herald, Goa

Amidst that entire speech, my favorite part is where Dravid shared his own experience. Since Dravid is already known for his on-field patience, here's an incident where he felt and learnt about patience off the field as well.

Dravid said "My wife and I have built a new home with a lovely garden which houses lovely bamboo trees. I got reading on the Chinese bamboo and learned that the tree takes 5 years, 3 months to grow to its whole height of 80 feet. Yet, for the first 5 years, you can only see a tiny green shoot, but in the next 90 days, it grows into a full-fledged tree. But in those first 60 months, it is growing its strong network of roots underground, to support the tree. In an era of instant gratification, we settle for shorter trees, but remember patience has its reward. These are your years of growing that strong network of roots but be sure when you finally achieve your success, people will call it 'overnight success'. If only they knew of the Chinese     bamboo!"

I hope this particular part of his speech would have been very motivating and inspiring not just for those school children but also for all. This one added some more hope to practice 'Patience'.

Sir Don Bradman Oration by Rahul Dravid

Sir Donald Bradman(1908-2001), one among the greatest Aussie players who is well known for his highest batting average of 99.94 in the Test cricket has almost played two decades of cricket in the era of 1928-1948. During his cricketing era he has scored 29 centuries of them 10 went on to double centuries and 2 went on to triple centuries. He is one of most respected batsman of all time who has earned a huge number of fans even in India. It won't be a surprise for us, as we all know that our Indian fans always respects the spirit and the quality of the game despite whatever team is playing.

Click here for Don Bradman's India connection (Source : Rediff)


Cricket Australia have started an event named 'Sir Donald Bradman Oration' in the year 2000 to honour the contributions of Sir Don Bradman to this game. The inaugural oration was delivered by John Howard the Honourable Prime Minister of Australia. Then the 9th Oration was delivered by none other than our 'Mr.Dependable- Rahul Dravid' . He became the first non-Australian player and the first ever Indian cricketer to deliver the Sir Don Bradman Oration on 14th December,2011 at the Australian war memorial, Canberra. In his terrific and admirable speech he has mentioned the values of Sir Don Bradman, the bond between India and Australia, the tradition and background of Indian cricket and some of his views on the future of the game.

Rahul Dravid's interview with TCS CEO

Hi all. Here in this post I'm sharing the video of Rahul Dravid's interview with TCS CEO - N.Chandrasekaran in their 'TCS Annual Leadership Meet - Glitz 2012'. It was quite an interesting interview between two greats in their respective fields. Here both share their experiences in their own aspects. The way Dravid answers for a question on handling pressures and stress was quite inspiring. I hope it comes under the second part of the video. Above all I enjoyed the documentary on Dravid that was displayed at the beginning and at the end of the meet. Any one who missed this interview can enjoy it here.

Here's the video in three parts :

-* Part - 1

                                 

-* Part - 2

Flamboyant Dravid in IPL-6

Rahul Dravid - 'Mr.Dependable' of the Indian Cricket, who is often related to the term consistency, has defended it and proved it once again in this IPL 2013. He has lead his team flamboyantly from the front. While mentioning the term 'Consistency', I still remember an incident that made me happy being a Dravid fan when one of my professor in college who was himself an example for the students has mentioned Rahul Dravid as an example for explaining the term 'Consistency' in one of my subjects. I remained more attentive than normal throughout that session because of it ;) That was one of my unforgettable moments when all my friends were staring at me to see me smiling as a proud RD fan :)

Memories apart, back to the topic, Rahul Dravid - 'The Wall' who is often criticized for his low strike rate in shorter versions, has broken his jinx and critics in this IPL 2013. It's not an easy task for a cricketer who has retired a year ago to come back with this kind of performance. Each and every innings that he has played so far in this tournament eloquently reveals his dedication, hard work and his passion for the game. He has not just excelled as a batsman or a fielder but even as a skipper. He has been appreciated  for using his limited resources well. Now even the T20 enthusiasts agree to the fact that the techniques, class and a spirited attitude can sound louder than the strike rates for a batsman.

Hangout with Rahul Dravid

             It was on 24th March last Monday, something unusual caught on my eyes as I was surfing on the Internet. It was nothing but a glimpse of Rahul Dravid's image with the title 'Hangout with Rahul Dravid'. Then how could I miss it. Had a look over it . The ESPN Cricinfo has arranged a Day with Dravid through Google Plus Hangout where you can have a live video chat with Rahul Dravid on March 25th at 2.30 PM. Two questions were asked for those who are interested to join the chat. It is said that among several entries, Cricinfo has selected ten lucky people who can ask Dravid two questions each in the video chat. Among the ten, one was selected to be a part alongside with Dravid in the studio.

"You have watched him bat like a champion. You have admired his dependability under pressure. You have idolized his courage and character. Now watch him live on Hangout as he discusses cricket, his life and his career with his fans " said Cricinfo. These were the lines I saw in that short note the day before the Hangout.

Many felt that this Google plus Hangout can help people and fans to interact and collaborate with their inspiring role models so felt I. If anyone missed it or want to relive it, Here are two links :

I felt that the Cricinfo link had better clarity.

*Here's the cricinfo link :

http://www.espncricinfo.com/india/content/

*Here's another link from YouTube :

Keep Visiting for more on this Inspiring Cricketer..

Here's a video of Rahul Dravid on Achiever's Club

The Teacher Achievement awards is a Reality-Talent based award given to people from various sectors like Business, Communication, Entertainment, Sports, People achiever award, Lifetime Achievement award, Global Achievement award and many more.. It was started right from the year 2001.. The Teacher Achievement awards present Achiever's club is a popular show broadcasted by Star World on inspiring people who have accomplished their dream targets in life.. Dravid was not far from the list.. 

Rahul Dravid has also won The Teacher's Achievement Award for Sports in the year 2004 and he shared this award with Major Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore..

Now in the season 2 of the Achiver's club , the Teacher's Achiever Boman Irani invited Rahul Dravid to the show.. It was telecasted on March 9, 2013 at 8 p.m..

If you have missed it, no worries, here's the video :

Rahul Dravid on the Achiever's Club Promo :

                                          

Here's the entire episode of Rahul Dravid on Achiever's Club :  

Video Courtesy : Star World and YouTube

Hope you all enjoyed !!

An open letter to Dravid from an exceptional fan

I wish to share an open letter that I read in a social networking site , that I found few years back.. As I was checking my database of Dravid's collection, I found this letter that I saved few years back.. Hope you all like it.. The original was posted on April 15th, 2010 and I read it few days later in the web..


Here's a letter from a parent who was working in a IT senoir management position to Dravid 


An open letter to a real life Hero


Dear Mr. Dravid
It has been on the back of my mind to write this note for the past two weeks, but I could make it only today.
My kids apparently happen to attend the same school as your kid.  In the last couple of years, of the many days I had been to school to drop or pickup my kid, I have seen you quite often in the school – you were also visiting school to drop / pickup your kid. 
The very first day when I spotted you – you were giving me a feel that you only wanted to be considered as ‘yet another’ parent coming to the school to drop/pickup his kid.  You were almost hiding behind a parked car, trying to avoid any eye contact with the small crowd of parents who were waiting there. I was actually amused to note that an international sports personality like you was looking uncomfortable in the very small crowd – maybe it was just my perception, but you were trying to keep to yourself.

Here's the Dravidian family

Rahul Dravid was born on January 11th, 1973 at Indore to Mr.Sharad Dravid and Mrs.Pushpa Dravid..  He has been Dravid's father Mr. Sharad Dravid has worked for Kissan, a jam company and Dravid's mother Mrs. Pushpa Dravid was a professor of Architecture at the UVCE, Bangalore. Rahul has a younger brother named vijay.. 

Dravid with his family

 Rahul Dravid was married to Vijeta Pendharkar, a surgeon from Nagpur on May 4th, 2003. They have two children Samit and Anvay..

Dravid with his wife Vijeta

Dravid with his sons

Pictures Courtesy : My collections from the web

On the Journey to Dravid's maiden Test century

         As Dravid made his debut in the second test against England in 1996, he fell short of 5 runs to reach his first Test hundred. Later in the next match (i.e. third test for India and Dravid's second Test) India was looking to level the series as it was the last Test of the series.. Earlier England won the first Test, the second Test was drawn at the Lord's, hence the third and final one played at Nottingham was the series decider.. India won the toss and elected to bat first. As the openers in that time Rathore and Mongia fell short in single digits, Ganguly and Tendulkar batted brilliantly scoring their centuries 136 and 177 respectively. Both of them added 255 runs for the team. Then came in Manjrekar and captain Azharuddin. The captain was out for 5 runs.. Then came in Rahul Dravid at number 7. Dravid once again exhibited his techniques and reached his half century. As Dravid was at 61,  Manjrekar fell out for 53 runs. Now Dravid was left alone with the lower order to help his team. Dravid did his part to the team by scoring his 84 runs and this brought India's total to 521.. Once again Dravid fell short of century as like in his first Test, but this time in eighties. The third and final match was drawn and England won the series.

Dravid's debut series would have been disappointing ,  but his individual scores had reasons to be in limelight. His average from two tests were 62.33, third highest debut average after Ganguly and Tendulkar. Thereafter the Indian team returned from England tour, India played only Test match against Australia at New Delhi where Dravid scored 40 and India won the only Test match. Later in November 1996, South Africa toured India for three match Test series, where Dravid scored 24 & 34 , 31 & 23 , 7 & 56 respectively in three tests in which India won the first and last Test to win the series. As finishing the series at home, the Indian Team toured to South Africa to play three Test against the same opponents. The south African pitch was not the one that is similar as in India.. It is highly known for its fast bowling pitches. Every cricket enthusiasts knows this.

Happy Birthday Mr.Dependable

 
        Rahul Dravid, the name may not feature in the current Indian Team, but it is the name that is still solid over the history of Indian cricket and that is far present in every Indian fans mind and heart.. Rahul Dravid celebrating his 40th birthday today..He may be the man of few words, but his statistics and records speaks a lot..

Here are some of the milestones in Rahul Dravid :

          --* Dravid was one among the three batsman to score hundred in four consecutive innings..Those scores were 115,148,217 against England and the fourth one was 101* against West Indies in the year 2002..

          --* He has a record of not getting out on a duck for 120 consecutive ODI innings..

          --* His highest score of 270 against Pakistan was the longest innings played by an Indian batsman in terms of minutes..He batted for 12 hours..

          --* Dravid holds a world record as involved in more than 85 century partnerships with 20 different partners..He has been involved in 20 century partnerships along with the Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar..

          --* He is the first and only batsman to score a century in all Test playing nations..

          --* Dravid holds the world record for most number of catches in Test cricket numbering more than 200 catches. He is the only player to cross this mark. He has took 210 catches in Test Cricket.

          --* As on December 14,2011, Dravid became the first non-Australian cricketer to address at the Don Bradman Oration at Canberra..Lets check many more statistics in posts to come later..

         

HAPPY BIRTHDAY RAHUL SIR :)

Here's the image that I have done for Dravid Sir in photo editor :

Dravid at the Lord's - His first Test Innings

  Here is the debut Test Innings of Rahul Dravid at the Lord's.. He batted at no.7 position scoring 95 runs..He was brought in to the team as a replacement for Sanjay Manjrekar in the second Test against England.. It was on 20th June,1996 Dravid made his Test Debut..

Video Courtesy : YouTube

Dravid's Debut in Cricket - Part 2

       As like 1992-93 season, Dravid went on with his impressive knocks in 1993-94 season as well.. He scored 93 runs for Rest of India in the Irani Trophy under the captaincy of Sanjay Manjrekar against punjab.. Later on he represented South zone in the Duleep Trophy scoring 67 and 148 against central zone..This made the national selectors to call Dravid for replacing Manoj Prabakar and Nayan Mongia due to some slow batting issues in the tri-series comprising West Indies and New Zealand.. Despite being selected for the national team, Dravid couldn't make into the playing eleven amidst many stalwarts in the team.. 

Continuing back in first class matches, Dravid was playing his part for SAARC cup, Board President's XI..At the end of 1994-95 season, Dravid scored more than 1000 first class runs.. Then comes the 1995-96 Ranji season  in which Dravid has an average of 80.66 in just 11 matches with 5 centuries and 3 half-centuries.. Despite having loads of runs under his bat, Dravid couldn't make into the selection of World Cup 1996.. It was all because the presence of some experienced players like Sidhu, Kambli, Ajay Jadeja, Sanjay Manjrekar, Sachin Tendulkar and the captain Azharuddin.. Later Dravid was selected for Singer Cup series..Dravid made his ODI debut on 3rd April, 1996 against Sri Lanka in which he scored only 3 runs...Then he got to score 107 runs, his maiden ODI century against Pakistan in 1997 at M.A.Chidambaram stadium, Chennai.