Rahul Dravid, The Unsung Hero of ODIs, Bid Goodbye

Personal Information

Full name	Rahul Sharad Dravid
Born	11 January 1973 (1973-01-11) (age 38) Indore, Madhya Pradesh, India
Nickname	The Wall, Jammy
Height	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Batting style	Right-handed
Bowling style	Right arm off spin
Role	Batsman, Wicketkeeper

Rahul Sharad Dravid played his 344th and last One Day International with his typical classic style at Cardiff on Friday. Though his labour did not resulted into a win for India but he showed the world his great batting style for the last time. Sadly always considered a better Test Player, but you may find a different story in his ODI credentials. No doubt in his first eight matches he scored just 63 runs including his debut in against Sri Lanka in April 1996. Even his first hundred, 107 against Pakistan in May 1997, came after 35 ODI’s and it took 247 matches to complete his 10th century, 104 again against Pakistan in April 2005. After this ton he for the first time touched average of 40 in his career. Critics always wanted him to be more aggressive. His patience in Tests was a virtue but ODIs demanded quick runs.
He used to have problem finding gaps and lacked an oft-used strategy to keep the scoreboard ticking in the initial years. but his hard work made him the back bone of the team. The fact that Dravid has 10,889 runs in 344 matches (@ 39.16), including 12 centuries and 83 half-centuries, corroborates his successful transition from a predominantly Test player to a reliable team member in the one-day set up.
The second highest scorer ever in Test cricket also happens to occupy the seventh spot in the ODI list — only behind Sachin Tendulkar, Ricky Ponting, Sanath Jayasuriya, Inzamam-ul Haq, Sourav Ganguly and Jacques Kallis. Playing what was his maiden World Cup, in 1999, Dravid finished the tournament’s highest scorer — aggregating 461 runs in eight matches (@ 65.86), even though India failed to make the last four. In fact, that year happened to be the most fruitful one in his ODI career. He totaled 1761 runs in 43 matches (@ 46.34) and scored six of his 12 career centuries, including a magnificent 154 against New Zealand at Hyderabad — his highest ODI score.
The 2004-05 period was another productive one, with Dravid aggregating 1025 runs (@ 39.42) in 31 matches (in 2004) and scoring another 1092 runs (@ 47.48) in 30 matches the following year. In February 2007, at Margao, he became one of the few batsmen to surpass the 10,000 ODI runs mark, against Sri Lanka — the country he had made his debut against. Besides, he reached No. 5 in the ICC ODI rankings and captained India in the 2007 ICC World Cup.
However, things have been anything but hunky-dory in the last few years. Since the last time India toured England (in 2007), Dravid has played in just 16 ODIs, the selectors preferring other options in his place. This prompted the veteran to concentrate solely on his Test career. However, success in the longer version, coupled with the failure of the young brigade to cope with the moving ball in England, made the selectors go back the player who is referred by many as ‘The Wall’.
The recall did not elate Dravid; it simply amused him. More importantly, it made him take a step that would ensure there is no place for such opportunism in the future.
September 16, 2011 has marked the end of an illustrious career, of a player whose perseverance translated into success.
And Dravid will move on to add more chapters to an even more remarkable Test career.

ODI debut	Vs Sri Lanka   at   Singapore,Singapore
Last ODI	Vs England   at   Cardiff,Wales
Test debut	Vs England   at   St John's Wood,England
Last Test	Vs England   at   Kennington,England
Twenty20 debut	Vs England   at   Manchester,England
Last Twenty20	Vs England   at   Manchester,England

 

Career statistics
Competition	Test		FC	LA
Matches	157		288	444
Runs scored	12,775		22,959	15,147
Batting average	53.00		55.72	42.54
100s/50s	35/60		65/114	21/111
Top score	270		270	153
Balls bowled	120		617	477
Wickets	1		5	4
Bowling average	39.00		54.60	105.25
5 wickets in innings	0		0	0
10 wickets in match	0		0	0
Best bowling	1/18		2/16	2/43
Catches/stumpings	207/0		346/1	233/17

ODI Statistics - Performance Analysis at Home, Away and Neutral Venues   Mat Runs HS BatAv 100s 50s Wickets Best BowlAv 5w 10w Ct St Home 94 3323 153 43.16 6 23 4 2-43 29.50 - - 47 2 Away 119 3975 153 40.98 2 36 0 0-6 6.00 - - 56 5 Neutral 131 3591 153 34.53 4 24 0 0-10 46.00 - - 92 7 Overall 344 10889 153 39.17 12 83 4 2-43 42.50 - - 195 14