Rahul Dravid, who scored 180 in the second innings of the iconic Eden Gardens test in 2001, spoke of how he tackled Australian captain Steve Waugh’s ploy to unsettle him as he walked out to bat with the hosts in a difficult situation.
“In the first three days of the Test match, we (India) were sort of completely beaten. Personally as well, my form was not good. I hadn’t scored runs in Bombay. I hadn’t hit runs in the first innings. In fact, I was demoted to number six in the batting order. In the second innings, when I walked in, Steve Waugh said ‘Rahul, number six in this innings, what is it in the next innings? Number 12?” Dravid said.
“It was quite funny because I had reached the depths, I felt so low. I was not in a position to think about the past or about the future. And in cricket, it is just about focusing on one ball at a time. I thought ‘let me see how many one balls I can play at a time.’ I was thinking one more, one more’,” Dravid further added at the Go Sports Athletes’ Conclave in Bengaluru.
The 2nd Test of the 2001 Border-Gavaskar Trophy is widely regarded as one of the greatest sporting comebacks. Dravid’s knock and VVS Laxman’s 281-run knock helped India take a 383-run lead after overturning a 274-run deficit. Powered by a stunning spell from Harbhajan Singh, India bundled out Australia for 212 to level the series 1-1.
