What a turnaround! India looked gutted for good. That was only when Rahul Dravid could be discounted.
From four down for virtually nothing in only the eighth over of the first innings of the first Test at Motera, Ahmedabad, if India ended up on 221 for five, it was thanks largely to the partnership between Dravid and Yuvraj Singh that brought India from the dark into the light as Dravid stood two shy of another glorious century for India.
Despite the stumps being uprooted repeatedly thanks to the mayhem of Chanaka Welegedera, Dravid stood rock solid in defense (the superlatives have been done to death), played out the morning mayhem and built upon a partnership that stood India in good light.
Yuvraj Singh looked determined, making up for a dreadful series in Sri Lanka, but perhaps the absence of Ajantha Mendis, Kumar Sangakkara preferring Rangana Herath to support Muttiah Muralitharan, also boosted his confidence.
The task on hand was no small feat and even for some of Dravid’s experience, it was simply another day to begin the rescue act again. And it was not easy because the Sri Lankan bowlers were on song, bowling to a line and length with rhythm and India’s top four batsmen were done for in the first half hour.
However, Dravid refused to cave in to the mayhem, and the duo built on a 125 run crucial partnership that not only got India on track again but also, perhaps more importantly, thwarted Sri Lanka from making further inroads and gaining complete ascendancy over the match.
But one could not help thinking, even as Mahendra Singh Dhoni joined hands with Dravid after the departure of Yuvraj Singh courtesy Muttiah Muralitharan for sixty-eight, that while the younger cricketers were berated for their abilities or lack of it in the ODI series against Australia, perhaps there were equally large concerns in the Test department as well and if the signs were there for the younger one such as Rohit Sharma and Suresh Raina to step up to the next level.
Presently there is no room but when there is, is there enough talent to fill the void?
(By the end of the day’s play, Rahul Dravid reached the 11000 Test run mark and scored an unbeaten 177, the most runs he has ever scored in a single Test day’s batting just as India scored the most number of runs in a single day’s play in a Test match.)
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Ind Aus ODI 6: Australia Complete Formalities, Corner Series Win Over Hapless India
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We are in for some terrific cricket over the next few days!
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Ind Aus ODI 4 Half Time: Nehra, Run Outs See Australia Falter
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Ind Aus Honour Series ODI 1 Half Time: Australia Chalk up 292 at Vadodara!
India-Australia ODI Series - Results, Dates, Venues and News in the Run Up!
