Saturday, January 21st, 2006
The ground beneath his feet
The date was 25th June 1983. Rahul Dravid was in Indore for his thread ceremony. He recalls watching the World Cup final on a black and white TV set. India beat the West Indies, the seemingly invincible defending champions, by 43 runs.
At the tender age of 10, Dravid learnt Goliath was beatable.
What is his most special memory of that day? “After India’s victory, my cousins and I went out and had ice-cream.â€
Ice-cream. Maybe, just maybe, that’s the secret of his by now legendary cool. Through the rise and ebb of the team’s fortunes, through personal triumphs and tribulations, he has stood firm, resolute, unwavering.
In 2003, he crafted an epic 233 against Australia in Adelaide. After batting for 594 minutes, he said the innings would be of consequence only if India won. On the final day of that match, India were six down and looked like choking but Rahul stood in the way, stayed unbeaten and took India to her first win on Australian shores in over two decades.