Another brick in the impregnable wall; the rise and rise of Rahul Dravid

Before Rahul Dravid struck form on the tour of the West Indies, many India watchers felt he would have to be persisted with perforce up to the tour to England because his experience would be needed there. If he didn’t contribute on the tour, it would be time to say goodbye to one of India’s greats.
But, as the cliché goes, cricket is not called a game of glorious uncertainties for nothing. Three innings into the most-talked about match up this summer, Dravid seems to be making the difference between India wilting and going down fighting at the very least, if not getting back.
On Saturday, he compiled what should go down as one of his worthiest of 34 tons. In difficult conditions, with the rest of the batting line-up largely falling apart around him, Dravid was rock-solid and chanceless. He duly got out to his first terrible shot of the innings, a valiant attempt to push the score.
The term workman-like was used in the TV commentary to describe his innings. But it does not do justice to his innings, for it was not labored or scratchy as such a description would suggest - far from it. It was one of the most fluent batting I have seen from him in a Test match in a long time, especially overseas. He was in control right through the innings and the waiting game, which some other batsmen in the line-up seemed too bored to play, came easily to him. When Dravid is in full flow, his eyes get narrow as if to focus his tunnel vision. During his recent slump, his eyes were wide open and anxious. Not so on Saturday; it was the Dravid we know.
One hopes 117 of the most valuable runs he has scored in his career don’t go in vain. A lead of 67 is no more than handy and England can still roar right back into this match and win it. It would be a shame for such a resounding reaffirmation of Dravid’s class to end up in a losing cause. Numbers have been doing the rounds in the internet of how Dravid’s centuries have almost never gone in vain. That one already has at Lord’s and another may well follow suit at Trent Bridge perhaps signifies the end of an era in Indian cricket.