Happy birthday, Rahul Dravid – The defender of faith at Adelaide and beyond

The history of Indian cricket has been riddled with countless highs and lows brimming with tales of heroes and fallen ones alike. The current incarnation of the sport in the country that you witness came through blood and thunder. Forged through fire and thunder, scourges and tribulations, this Indian team made itself from the very scratch, knitting together pieces of history that would eventually raise to the stature of fables and folklore.

Whenever the talks have run wild about the folklore of Indian cricket, a few heroes have been named without hesitation, those who have acted as the fixed points in time and space that can never be toppled or should not be tinkered with. Rahul Dravid is one such name. The man reshaped the contours of Test cricket and taught the world that no matter the odds, no matter the difficulties, if you stick to your guns with aplomb, one fine day, this world will bow to you.

As we celebrate the 51st birthday of Rahul Dravid, the Wall of Indian cricket, we will take a stroll down the memory lane to a couple of decades back when India came menacingly close to history, only for all the forces of nature and cricket coming together to stall the juggernaut on the final day of a historic Border Gavaskar Trophy match.

This tale is about one of the most hallowed grounds of cricket in the entire world, Adelaide. Back in 2003, when India were touring Australia for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, the first contest in Brisbane ended in a draw despite victory taunting the visitors at the end of the fourth day. Much to India’s woes, the fifth day of the contest got washed away.

When the caravan arrived in Adelaide, things complicated beyond imagination for the Indian team as Australia piled up 400 runs at the end of day one, batting first and was well set for a gargantuan score. They were eventually bowled out for 556 with Anil Kumble claiming a fifer.

The Indian openers, Aakash Chopra and Virender Sehwag, got off to a fiery start but their time in the center was short-lived as Andy Bichel got rid of both. Rahul Dravid stepped into the middle with the Aussie bowlers delivering fire with their tails up while to add to the woes of the Indian cricket team, they lost Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly for a collective score of three.

Eventually the pair that denied Australia a bite at rampage on Eden Gardens, three years ago, came to the fore once again, emerging as messiahs of the Indian cricket team. Amidst the raining fire and thunderbolts from Jason Gillespie, Brad Williams, Andy Bichel and Stuart McGill, India waged on a war, riding high on Dravid and Laxman.

The duo added 303 runs for the fifth wicket before Laxman was removed for a warring 148 but Dravid had no intentions of stopping. He continued with his song of defiance and would occasionally charge down at the Aussie bowlers whenever he could sense a loosener on a platter.

Dravid was the last one to fall with an imperious knock of 233 from 446 balls, a knock that featured brilliance, resilience, belief and most importantly a temperament forged in the heavens to get India within touching distance of the mammoth first innings total posted by Steve Waugh and company.

If the first innings felt like a featherbed for the batters, the second innings was a dance of death as the fast bowlers could sense venom brewing on the horizon. With cracks opening up, Australia’s batting order found themselves wobbling and Ajit Agarkar’s fiery spell of 6/41 got them bundled out for 196, as India were set a target of 230.

Despite being a modest number on the board, batting in Adelaide on the fifth day came with its own set of woes and the Indian openers found themselves caught in a rut again. The start looked good but it would soon fizzle away. However, this time Rahul Dravid would have support in a certain Sachin Tendulkar and the duo worked hard to propel India to a decent position.

Call it poetic justice if you want, but Rahul Dravid delivered the final blow of the historic match-up as he cracked Stuart McGill for a boundary, sending the Indian fans into a frenzy of incredulity, unbridled joys and exhilarations. Another mighty chapter of cricketing history got penned and Dravid was the author.

We, at the Royal Challengers Bangalore, wish our former skipper, the current Indian coach, and a living legend, Rahul Dravid, a very happy 51st birthday. Have a good one, Jammy.