As
Rahul Dravid prepares to step into his final limited overs match, here's a look at the amazing journey that The Wall undertook in his illustrious career. (Also see: The importance of being
Rahul Dravid) The Highs - 1999 World Cup: With 461 runs, he finished as the leading run-scorer, including a knock of 145 against Sri Lanka at
Taunton. - Standing the test of time: His career-best of 153 in
ODIs came in a world record 331-run stand (for any wicket) with
Sachin Tendulkar against New Zealand at Hyderabad in 1999. Incidentally, this epic partnership broke his record 318-run stand with
Sourav Ganguly against Sri Lanka in the 1999 World Cup. - The big chase: During the fourth
ODI against West Indies at
Ahmedabad in 2002, his knock of 109 helped India to the third highest run-chase in
ODI history (at the time) of 325. - 2003 World Cup: Doubling up as a
wicketkeeper and batsman, he was part of the side that won eight games in succession to power into the final.
Dravid top-scored in the crucial win against England and struck unbeaten knocks to guide India home against Pakistan and New Zealand. He finished with 318 runs, 15 wickets and a
stumping. - History-making: During the historic tour of Pakistan in 2003-04,
Dravid was instrumental in India winning maiden Test and
ODI rubbers on Pakistan soil. He top-scored in the five
ODIs with 248 runs.
- Golden run: During his captaincy stint, India broke the 14-match West Indies record for most consecutive successful run-chases in ODIs. For this 17-match run, Dravid was the captain for 15 games while Sourav Ganguly was captain for the other two. - 10,000 ODI runs: In Feb 2007, he joined the club during the Goa ODI against Sri Lanka. The Lows - Axed: Having scored just two fifties in 11 outings, Dravid struggled to find a place in the XI in October 1998. However, he became a permanent fixture in the side two months later. - Racially abused: His quick fire 84 in Johannesburg almost took India to victory in the final of the tri-series in February 1997. When he struck a six through the on side, Allan Donald, who racially abused him, mentioned this incident in his autobiography. Even Dravid lost his temper and refused to accept Donald's apology after the match.
- Ball-tampering: In January 2004, he was found guilty of ball-tampering during an ODI against Zimbabwe at Brisbane. TV cameras caught him rubbing a cough lozenge on the shiny side of the ball. The incident was reported to match referee Clive Lloyd, and he was fined 50 per cent of his match fee. Later, India coach John Wright defended Dravid, stating that "It was an innocent mistake".- 2007 World Cup: Dravid was captain of the Indian team during the Caribbean debacle.- Not young enough: Despite playing a few match- winning knocks in the ODI series in England (2007), the selectors were ready to invest in the youth. Dravid was axed from the ODI squad after few failures against Australia in September 2007. He wasn't picked again until August 2009.- Return short-lived: His return in 2009 lasted two months. Dravid was primarily picked to help the young Indian team tackle the bounce in South Africa (Champions Trophy 2009). Two months later, he was dropped, yet again.
