Dravid's golden phase began, arguably, in Kolkata 2001, with a supporting act, when he made 180 to supplement VVS Laxman's classic effort of 281 against Australia. But from then on, Dravid became India's most valuable player, saving them Tests at Port Elizabeth, Georgetown and Trent Bridge, winning them Tests at Headlingley, Adelaide, Kandy and Rawalpindi. At one point during this run, he carved up four centuries in successive innings, and hit four double-centuries in the space of 15 Tests, including in historic away-wins at Adelaide and Rawalpindi. As India finished off the 2004 Pakistan tour on a winning note, on the back of Dravid's epic 270, his average crept past Sachin Tendulkar's - and it seemed no aberration.

Rahul Dravid, a cricketer who seamlessly blends an old-world classicism with a new-age professionalism, is the best No. 3 batsman to play for India - and might even be considered one of the best ever by the time his career is done. He already averages around 60 at that position, more than any regular No. 3 batsman in the game's history, barring Don Bradman. Unusually for an Indian batsman, he also averages more overseas - around 60, again - than at home. But impressive as his statistics are, they cannot represent the extent of his importance to India, or the beauty of his batsmanship.
When Dravid began playing Test cricket, he was quickly stereotyped as a technically correct player capable ...
Rahul Dravid, a cricketer who seamlessly blends an old-world classicism with a new-age professionalism, is the best No. 3 batsman to play for India - and might even be considered one of the best ever by the time his career is done. He already averages around 60 at that position, more than any regular No. 3 batsman in the game's history, barring Don Bradman. Unusually for an Indian batsman, he also averages more overseas - around 60, again - than at home. But impressive as his statistics are, they cannot represent the extent of his importance to India, or the beauty of his batsmanship.

Most Tests played in 2010 have yielded results and proved competitive. Dravid singled out the preparation of sporting pitches with bounce as "critical" in ensuring the trend continued. "Going ahead, if you want Test cricket to survive, you've got to ensure that they are played on good cricket wickets that give everyone a chance," he said.

"Bounce is a critical factor. If you have wickets that have bounce, it allows people to play shots as we've seen with [Virender] Sehwag, Sachin [Tendulkar] and [VVS] Laxman in the last series, and even with [Hashim] Amla. You have people who play shots and play positively, but it also gives the fast bowlers and the spinners enough later on to keep them all interested in the game."

Known as the Wall due to his ability to bat for long durations, and Jammy due to his endorsement for Kissan and also because his father worked in Kissan, a jam company, Dravid holds multiple world cricketing records. He is the second Indian batsman, after Sachin Tendulkar, and the fifth international player to have scored more than 11,000 runs in Test cricket