It's the IPL season so, I thought let's write something on Cricket... And if so, then what else but the Big 3 of Indian Cricket...
He is the WALL. Rahul Dravid, who was overshadowed for the most part of his cricketing career by the other 2 has now carved a niche for himself as one of the greatest Test Batsman in the world ever. He is easily the 3rd Best No.3 batsman ever in the world. Watching Rahul Dravid bat is like watching a farmer toiling in the field, or an ironsmith hitting away one by one on the hot iron, shaping it slowely (but strongly). He is a purists delight. I have a certain old school in me and if there ever was a reason for me to appreciate why a good ball needs to be respected, it is him batting. You see the man batting, and you can see that he is a perfectionist. For the first few deliveries/minutes, he will be practising a defensive stroke at the non-strikers end. Not for him the early flurry of runs or nervous zeroes. His aim is to first survive and that too in a very correct way, after which he knows that runs will flow. He knows his strengths are his concentration and much perfected technique. How I wish he releases a book on his training/practise: that will be an institution for all the Rohit Sharmas, Uthhapas, Kohlis etc. He is and has always been 1 man at whom India has looked upon in a crisis. It does not matter if it was in New Zealand with him hitting back to back centuries or playing an important fighting innings along side Laxman @ Kotla (the greatest test match ever of the greatest test serries ever), helping in winning 1st Test Match in Australia and so many other instances. When it comes to Test Matches, it is only Dravid we have always had. Around him as the constant, the Sachins, Souravs and Laxmans have played more attractive innings and as always for the cricket illiterates of India, Dravid was always under appreciated. It all started with his first match itself where a certain Sourav Ganguly knocked up a fine century and Dravid missed it with a mere 4 runs... and that has been his tale. But for the purists in us, the old school people among us who know that the game of cricket is not just slam bang and sixers, but is more of the finer points... like achieving perfection, constructing an innings, respecting good balls, playing a cultured shot (it is not baseball to just swirl your bat, make contact and hope that the ball powers through for a home run) and that batting can be a laboured art, you are the epitome of batsmanship. Kudos to Dravid to having bailed out India numerous times, for being the unsung hero so often and personally, for giving us a glimpse of a forgotten era of batsmanship (which looks like it will soon get extinct)... If I ever have a son who wants to be a batsman, I would like him to play like you... a mere Mortal who achieved immortal heights through sweat, toil and persistence.
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