playername	Chris Cairns
country	New Zealand
fullname	Christopher Lance Cairns
living	true
dayofbirth	13
monthofbirth	06
yearofbirth	1970
placeofbirth	Picton, Marlborough
countryofbirth	New Zealand
batting	Right-handed
bowling	Right arm fast-medium
role	All-rounder
family	Lance Cairns (father)
international	true
testdebutdate	24 November
testdebutyear	1989
testdebutagainst	Australia
testcap	168
lasttestdate	13 June
lasttestyear	2004
lasttestagainst	England
odidebutdate	13 February
odidebutyear	1991
odidebutagainst	England
odicap	76
lastodidate	8 January
lastodiyear	2006
lastodiagainst	Sri Lanka
club1	Canterbury
year1	1990 – 2006
club2	Nottinghamshire
year2	1988 – 2003
club3	Northern Districts
year3	1988 – 1989
columns	4
column1	Test
matches1	62
runs1	3,320
bat avg1	33.53
100s/50s1	5/22
top score1	158
deliveries1	11,698
wickets1	218
bowl avg1	29.40
fivefor1	13
tenfor1	1
best bowling1	7/27
catches/stumpings1	14/–
column2	ODI
matches2	215
runs2	4,950
bat avg2	29.46
100s/50s2	4/26
top score2	115
deliveries2	8,168
wickets2	201
bowl avg2	32.80
fivefor2	1
tenfor2	n/a
best bowling2	5/42
catches/stumpings2	66/–
column3	FC
matches3	217
runs3	10,702
bat avg3	35.32
100s/50s3	13/71
top score3	158
deliveries3	34,252
wickets3	647
bowl avg3	28.31
fivefor3	30
tenfor3	6
best bowling3	8/47
catches/stumpings3	78/–
column4	LA
matches4	424
runs4	10,367
bat avg4	32.60
100s/50s4	9/55
top score4	143
deliveries4	16,620
wickets4	455
bowl avg4	27.99
fivefor4	6
tenfor4	n/a
best bowling4	6/12
catches/stumpings4	118/–
date	26 November
year	2008
source	http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/newzealand/content/player/36597.html Cricinfo }}

Christopher Lance Cairns, ONZM, (born 13 June 1970) is a former all-rounder who played for the New Zealand international cricket team, the Black Caps, and is son of former New Zealand cricketer Lance Cairns. He starred in both the One-day and Test New Zealand teams, as well as the Canterbury New Zealand domestic championship team. Cairns also captained the Black Caps on seven occasions, usually when regular captain Stephen Fleming was unavailable.

He was described by Shane Warne, the Australian leg spinner, as the best all-rounder in the world. Cairns finished his Test career with a batting average of 33.53 and a bowling average of 29.40. In 2000, he was named as one of five Wisden Cricketers of the Year.

Career

Cairns was a destructive batsman who could hit sixes straight down the ground and in his earlier days was an intelligent fast-medium bowler. Since then, persistent injuries have forced him to drop his pace and rely more on his hard-to-read slower ball.

With the bat, Cairns has been the author of some of New Zealand cricket's most memorable innings, including his unbeaten 102 to win the final of the 2000 ICC KnockOut Trophy for New Zealand against India in Kenya in which he holds the record of hitting 14 sixes in one innings, and his 158 from just 172 balls in a Test against South Africa in 2004. Cairns knocked Shane Warne out of Australia's bowling attack during a 2000 test in Wellington when he launched several sixes out of the Basin Reserve and onto the adjacent street. Cairns formerly held the world record for most sixes in Tests (87, since surpassed by Adam Gilchrist), and shared the New Zealand record for fastest century in ODIs (75 balls, since surpassed by Craig McMillan).

With the ball, Cairns' career-best performance was 7/27 against the West Indies in a Test in 1998, and he is New Zealand's third highest wicket taker in Tests, after Richard Hadlee and Daniel Vettori.

He is also one of only seven players to have reached the all-rounder's double of 200 wickets and 3000 runs. Out of these seven players, Cairns reached the double 2nd fastest (58 Test) behind Ian Botham. In ODIs, Cairns came close to another double of 200 wickets and 5000 runs. Cairns finished his ODI career on 4950 runs, just 50 short. Cairns Test batting average at number seven (44.02) is the 5th best average for that position of all time.

The New Zealand Herald journalist, Richard Boock said about Cairns: "It's not a scientific measure of course, but if Cairns' body had held together long enough for him to have played 100 Tests, his figures extrapolate out to something like 5334 runs and 351 wickets - very similar to those of Botham." He went on to say "He was, and should be remembered as, one of the game's best all-rounders."

Cairns also played in the World Cricket Tsunami Appeal ODI, at the MCG. Cairns played for the ICC World XI and scored 69 off 47 balls before being stumped by Kumar Sangakkara off the bowling of Muttiah Muralitharan. During his innings, Cairns put a 91 run partnership on with captain, Ricky Ponting. With the ball, Cairns picked up 1-37 off 6 overs.

Injuries plagued Cairns throughout his career. There remains some debate over his statistics and how they reflected his ability. In Cairns career he played 62 Test and missed a further 55 due to injury. Sidharth Monga writing in 2009 that Cairns' career returns "were a poor justification of his prodigious talent."

Cairns also played for Northland in the Hawke Cup.

Retirement

Cairns retired from the New Zealand Test team in 2004. On 22 January 2006, Cairns announced his retirement from ODIs in a press conference. A Twenty20 match against the West Indies on 16 February 2006 was his last game representing New Zealand. He was also part of the ICC World XI that played in the World Cricket Tsunami Appeal matches.

The New Zealand Herald compared his retirement to those of Michael Jordan and Björn Borg on 15 February 2006. Cairns also left the door open for a comeback, but said "I don't think I could ever be tempted back".

In Cairns' final game, he bowled four overs for 24 and no wicket and scored a nine-ball duck, before being bowled by Chris Gayle. He also missed the stumps in both attempts during the bowl off. Cricinfo describe his final international as "an unfitting farewell" and that "he deserved better".

He has joined the Indian Cricket League, and is currently the captain of the Chandigarh Lions. He is currently playing for Nottinghamshire in the English Twenty20 cup competition.

His sister Louise was killed at Rolleston in an August 1993 train accident; in September 2008 he completed a walk promoting rail safety awareness.

Cairns' is married to Melanie Croser, an Australian who works for the sports marketing group Octagon in Sydney. It is his third marriage.

Statistics

Test Centuries

In the column Runs, * indicates being not out.

The column title Match refers to the Match Number of his career.

{|class="wikitable" style="font-size: 100%" align="center" width:"100%" !colspan=8|Chris Cairns's Test Centuries |- ! width="40"| # !! width="50"|Runs !! width="50"|Match !! width="125"|Against !! width="175"|City/Country !! width="200"|Venue !! width="50"|Year !! width="50"|Result |- | 1 || 120 || 16 || || Auckland, New Zealand || Eden Park || 1996 || Drawn |- | 2 || 126 || 35 || || Hamilton, New Zealand || Seddon Park || 1999 || Drawn |- | 3 || 109 || 46 || || Wellington, New Zealand || Basin Reserve || 2000 || Lost |- | 4 || 124 || 49 || || Harare, Zimbabwe || Harare Sports Club || 2000 || Won |- | 5 || 158 || 58 || || Auckland, New Zealand || Eden Park || 2004 || Won |- |}

One Day International Centuries

{|class="wikitable" style="font-size: 100%" align="center" width:"100%" !colspan=8|Chris Cairns's One Day International Centuries |- ! width="40"| # !! width="50"|Runs !! width="50"|Match !! width="125"|Against !! width="175"|City/Country !! width="200"|Venue !! width="50"|Year !! width="50"|Result |- | 1 || 103 || 32 || || Pune, India || Nehru Stadium || 1995 || Lost |- | 2 || 115 || 100 || || Christchurch, New Zealand || AMI Stadium || 1999 || Won |- | ''3''' || 102* || 130 || || Nairobi, Kenya || Gymkhana Club Ground || 2000 || Won |- | 4 || 102* || 141 || || Brisbane, Australia || Brisbane Cricket Ground || 2002 || Won |- |} Incidentally Cairn's first 3 centuries out of his 4 were against India. His third century helped New Zealand to win their maiden title in an ICC award. So far this title remains the only victory for New Zealand in an ODI tournament involving teams more than 2.

Test 5-Wicket Hauls

{|class="wikitable" style="font-size: 100%" align="center" width:"100%" !colspan=8|Chris Cairns's Test 5-Wicket Hauls |- ! width="40"| # !! width="50"|Figures !! width="50"|Match !! width="125"|Against !! width="175"|City/Country !! width="200"|Venue !! width="50"|Year !! width="50"|Result |- | 1 || 5/75 || 2 || || Auckland, New Zealand || Eden Park || 1991 || Drawn |- | 2 || 6/52 || 4 || || Auckland, New Zealand || Eden Park || 1992 || Lost |- | 3 || 5/137 || 18 || || Rawalpindi, Pakistan || Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium || 1996 || Lost |- | 4 || 5/50 || 24 || || Harare, Zimbabwe || Harare Sports Club || 1997 || Drawn |- | 5 || 5/62 || 33 || || Colombo, Sri Lanka || Sinhalese Sports Club || 1998 || Lost |- | 6 || 6/77 || 37 || || London, England || Lord's || 1999 || Won |- | 7 || 5/31 || 39 || || London, England || Kennington Oval || 1999 || Won |- | 8 || 7/27 || 43 || || Hamilton, New Zealand || Seddon Park || 1999 || Won |- | 9 || 5/44 || 44 || || Wellington, New Zealand || Basin Reserve || 1999 || Won |- | 10 || 5/31 || 48 || || Bulawayo, Zimbabwe || Queens Sports Club || 2000 || Won |- | 11 || 5/146 || 50 || || Brisbane, Australia || Brisbane Cricket Ground || 2001 || Drawn |- | 12 || 7/53 || 53 || || Hamilton, New Zealand || Seddon Park || 2001 || Won |- | 13 || 5/79 || 62 || || Nottingham, England || Trent Bridge || 2004 || Won |- |} During the Lord's Test against England, he bowled England wicket-keeper Chris Read for zero. Read was ducking to the ball, what he thought was a beamer from Chris Cairns but was in fact a well-disguised slower ball.

One Day International 5-Wicket Hauls

{|class="wikitable" style="font-size: 100%" align="center" width:"100%" !colspan=8|Chris Cairns's One Day International 5-Wicket Hauls |- ! width="40"| # !! width="50"|Figures !! width="50"|Match !! width="125"|Against !! width="175"|City/Country !! width="200"|Venue !! width="50"|Year !! width="50"|Result |- | 1 || 5/42 || 83 || || Napier, New Zealand || McLean Park || 1998 || Won |- |}

Notes

External links

Chris Cairns from New Zealand Cricket

Category:New Zealand One Day International captains Category:New Zealand One Day International cricketers Category:New Zealand Test cricketers Category:New Zealand Twenty20 International cricketers Category:New Zealand Youth One Day International captains Category:New Zealand Youth Test captains Category:New Zealand cricketers Category:Canterbury cricketers Category:Northern Districts cricketers Category:Nottinghamshire cricketers Category:ICC World XI One Day International cricketers Category:Wisden Cricketers of the Year Category:Cricketers at the 1992 Cricket World Cup Category:Cricketers at the 1996 Cricket World Cup Category:Cricketers at the 1999 Cricket World Cup Category:Cricketers at the 2003 Cricket World Cup Category:Officers of the New Zealand Order of Merit Category:1970 births Category:Living people Category:Chandigarh cricketers Category:People from the Marlborough Region

mr:ख्रिस केर्न्स

{{infobox cricketer | playername

Gary Kirsten | image | country South Africa | fullname Gary Kirsten | living true | dayofbirth 23 | monthofbirth 11 | yearofbirth 1967 | placeofbirth Cape Town | countryofbirth South Africa | batting Left-handed | bowling Right arm off break | family Paul Kirsten (brother)Peter Kirsten (half-brother) | international true | testdebutdate 26 December | testdebutyear 1993 | testdebutagainst Australia | testcap 257 | lasttestdate 30 March | lasttestyear 2004 | lasttestagainst New Zealand | odidebutdate 14 December | odidebutyear 1993 | odidebutagainst Australia | odicap 28 | lastodidate 3 March | lastodiyear 2003 | lastodiagainst Sri Lanka | club1 Western Province | year1 1987–2004 | columns 4 | column1 Test | matches1 101 | runs1 7,289 | bat avg1 45.27 | 100s/50s1 21/34 | top score1 275 | deliveries1 349 | wickets1 2 | bowl avg1 71.00 | fivefor1 – | tenfor1 – | best bowling1 1/0 | catches/stumpings1 83/– | column2 ODI | matches2 185 | runs2 6,798 | bat avg2 40.95 | 100s/50s2 13/45 | top score2 188* | deliveries2 30 | wickets2 0 | bowl avg2 – | fivefor2 – | tenfor2 n/a | best bowling2 – | catches/stumpings2 61/1 | column3 FC | matches3 221 | runs3 16,670 | bat avg3 48.31 | 100s/50s3 46/79 | top score3 275 | deliveries3 1,727 | wickets3 20 | bowl avg3 41.80 | fivefor3 1 | tenfor3 0 | best bowling3 6/68 | catches/stumpings3 171/– | column4 LA | matches4 294 | runs4 9,586 | bat avg4 36.58 | 100s/50s4 18/58 | top score4 188* | deliveries4 138 | wickets4 3 | bowl avg4 37.33 | fivefor4 – | tenfor4 n/a | best bowling4 1/25 | catches/stumpings4 97/1 | date 28 December | year 2009 | source http://content-aus.cricinfo.com/ci/content/player/45813.html Cricinfo }}

Gary Kirsten (born 23 November 1967 in Cape Town) is a former South African cricketer, and the World Cup winning coach of the Indian cricket team. He played 101 Test matches and 185 One-day internationals for South Africa between 1993 and 2004, mainly as an opening batsman. His half brother Peter, also played provincial cricket for Western Province, and then later for the South Africa cricket team which included the highlight of the Cricket World Cup in 1992.

Playing career

Kirsten made his Test debut against Australia in Melbourne in 1993. He retired from international cricket in 2004 after crafting a match-winning 76 in his final innings, against New Zealand. Against the same country he had made history by becoming the first ever Protea to play in 100 Test matches.

Over the years, he gained a reputation as being a sturdy batsman in both Test cricket and one-day cricket. He could up the tempo of an innings if he needed to, but more often than not he simply waited for the bad ball, much like Steve Waugh and Justin Langer. He was also a reliable fielder. Kirsten held the South African records for most runs and centuries in a Test career, before both were surpassed by Jacques Kallis. He was the first Test batsman to make hundreds against each of the other 9 Test nations. He made a score of 275 against England as a result of batting for over 14 and a half hours as South Africa followed on at Kingsmead, still stands as the second-longest innings (in terms of duration) in Test history. The high score was later surpassed by Graeme Smith when he made 277 against England in 2003. He still holds the record for highest innings by a South African in a One Day International; 188 not-out made against the United Arab Emirates during the 1996 World Cup, which is the sixth highest innings of all time in One-Day International cricket, and the highest score in World Cup cricket history.

Coaching career

India (2008-2011)

After retirement, Kirsten organized his own cricket academy in Cape Town. In November 2007, it emerged that Kirsten was a candidate for the vacant post of Indian coach. The BCCI offered him a two-year contract for the post, and despite voicing reservations about concerns he had about having the full support of India players, he confirmed he would be taking the job on 4 December.

He officially started as coach on 1 March 2008. However, he travelled to Australia with India beforehand during the test series. His first full series in charge was against his home country, South Africa in March–April 2008 which was drawn 1-1. Also, he coached India to the finals of the Kitply Cup and 2008 Asia Cup (India lost both the finals). During his tenure as Coach of India, Indian cricket team won a home series against Australia beating them 2-0. Apart from clinching the Border-Gavaskar trophy, he also coached India to its first bilateral series win in Sri Lanka against Sri Lanka and India's first One-Day International series victory against New Zealand in New Zealand after 40 years. India also won the Compaq Cup, defeating Sri Lanka in the finals on 14 September 2009 by 46 runs. A highly accomplished batsman himself, he has brought in a considerable amount of improvement in the batting performances, which is largely associated with his ability to instill better confidence among younger players.

Gary Kirsten has been praised by all players for improving/enhancing their playing techniques, motivating them and discussing tactics that can be deployed on the field. The results could be clearly seen within months. He is considered the key force behind the clearly visible performance improvement in all players. In 2010, Prior to the start of India's tour of South Africa, Indian captain M.S. Dhoni described him as "The best thing to happen to Indian cricket."

World Cup 2011

After the tour of South Africa, which India drew 1-1 in the Test series lost 3-2 in ODIs, Kirsten announced he would not renew his contract with BCCI because of family commitments. Kirsten often stated that he wanted to spend time with his two growing sons, Joshua and James, and wife and said three years away from home was long enough. Immediately after the announcement Kirsten was linked with joining South Africa as their coach as the South Africa coach Corrie van Zyl also announced his contract would end after the World Cup as well. Kirsten ended his tenure as coach after India won the 2011 Cricket World Cup defeating Sri Lanka by 6 wickets and 10 balls to spare on 2 April 2011 at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, India. During the celebration, he was carried around the ground by Suresh Raina , Yusuf Pathan and Virat Kohli to show their respect.

His term as coach to the Indian side has come to an end with the Indian team's victory amidst various media reports of very lucrative offers from various quarters from the cricketing world. But he has cleared the air by adopting a modest approach on his further availability as coach to the Indian team by saying that he has no offer and he wanted to say goodbye to India for the reasons that he wants to spend time with his family.

South Africa (2011 – present)

On 5 June 2011 Kirsten was appointed the full time coach of the South Africa national cricket team for a term period of two years. His first decision was to name AB DeVilliers as the new captain for the limited overs game, replacing Graeme Smith who remains as the Test side captain. Kirsten began his term as coach on 1 August and his first assignment will be a home series against Australia. He took over from Corrie van Zyl, who was an interim coach for 14 months after Mickey Arthur resigned following the home series against England in 2009-10.

Business interests

In 2007, Kirsten joined Paddy Upton and Dale Williams to form a company called Performance Zone. The focus of the company is to work with individuals and teams in business and sport, bringing out their clients' best performance. When Kirsten was appointed Indian coach and Upton Indian Mental conditioning coach on a two year contract, they decided to continue the business. Its first project, post Kirsten taking on the Indian coach role, is the creation of garykirsten.com.

References

Category:South Africa One Day International cricketers Category:South Africa Test cricketers Category:Western Province cricketers Category:Wisden Cricketers of the Year Category:South African cricket captains Category:1967 births Category:Living people Category:Coaches of the Indian national cricket team Category:Coaches of the South Africa national cricket team Category:People from Cape Town

fr:Gary Kirsten gu:ગૅરી કિર્સ્ટન hi:गैरी किर्स्टन kn:ಗ್ಯಾರಿ ಕರ್ಸ್ಟೈನ್ ml:ഗാരി കേസ്റ്റൺ mr:गॅरी कर्स्टन ta:கேரி கிர்ஸ்டன் te:గారీ క్రిస్టెన్

Tom Slingsby (born September 5, 1984) is an Australian sailor from the Central Coast of New South Wales.

2007 - Won the Laser dinghy world championships.

2008 - Ranked number one in the Laser dinghy class prior to the 2008 Summer Olympics Laser competition but finished 23rd overall.

2010 - Won the Laser dinghy world championships at Hayling Island, UK. He was also named the male ISAF World Sailor of the Year.

References

Australian Olympic Committee profile

Category:1984 births Category:Living people Category:Australian yacht racers Category:Sailors at the 2008 Summer Olympics Category:Olympic sailors of Australia

playername	Rahul Dravid
country	India
fullname	Rahul Sharad Dravid
living	yes
nickname	The Wall, Jammy
dayofbirth	11
monthofbirth	1
yearofbirth	1973
placeofbirth	Indore, Madhya Pradesh
countryofbirth	India
heightft	5
heightinch	11
heightm	1.7
batting	Right-handed
bowling	Right arm off spin
role	Batsman, Wicketkeeper
international	true
testdebutdate	20 June
testdebutyear	1996
testdebutagainst	England
testcap	150
lasttestdate	18 August
lasttestyear	2011
lasttestagainst	England
odidebutdate	3 April
odidebutyear	1996
odidebutagainst	Sri Lanka
odicap	339
lastodidate	30 September
lastodiyear	2009
lastodiagainst	West Indies
odishirt	19
club1	Karnataka
year1	1990–present
club2	Scotland
year2	2003
club3	Kent
year3	2000
club4	Royal Challengers Bangalore
year4	2008–2010
club5	Rajasthan Royals
year5	2011–present
columns	4
column1	Test
matches1	157
runs1	12,775
bat avg1	53.00
100s/50s1	35/60
top score1	270
deliveries1	120
wickets1	1
bowl avg1	39.00
fivefor1	0
tenfor1	0
best bowling1	1/18
catches/stumpings1	207/0
column2	ODI
matches2	339
runs2	10,765
bat avg2	39.43
100s/50s2	12/82
top score2	153
deliveries2	186
wickets2	4
bowl avg2	42.50
fivefor2	0
tenfor2	0
best bowling2	2/43
catches/stumpings2	196/14
column3	FC
matches3	288
runs3	22,959
bat avg3	55.72
100s/50s3	65/114
top score3	270
deliveries3	617
wickets3	5
bowl avg3	54.60
fivefor3	0
tenfor3	0
best bowling3	2/16
catches/stumpings3	346/1
column4	LA
matches4	444
runs4	15,147
bat avg4	42.54
100s/50s4	21/111
top score4	153
deliveries4	477
wickets4	4
bowl avg4	105.25
fivefor4	0
tenfor4	0
best bowling4	2/43
catches/stumpings4	233/17
date	23 August
year	2011
source	http://www.cricinfo.com/india/content/player/28114.html Cricinfo }}

Rahul Sharad Dravid (, ), (born 11 January 1973) is a cricketer in the Indian national team, of which he has been a regular member since 1996. He was appointed as the captain of the Indian cricket team in October 2005 and resigned from the post in September 2007. Dravid was honoured as one of the top-five Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 2000. Dravid was also awarded the ICC Player of the Year and the Test Player of the Year at the inaugural awards ceremony held in 2004. Dravid also holds the record of having taken the most number of catches in Test cricket. On August 7, 2011 after getting a surprise call to play in ODI series against England he declared his retirement from One Day Internationals and T20.

Popularly hailed as "The Wall of Indian cricket", Dravid is known for his ability to bat for a long period of time. Dravid holds multiple cricketing records. He is the second Indian batsman, after Sachin Tendulkar, and the third international player to reach 12,000 runs in Test cricket. On 14 February 2007, he became the sixth player over all and the third Indian (after Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly), to score 10,000 runs in ODI cricket in cricketing history. He is the first and only batsman to score a century in all ten Test playing nations. With more than 200 catches, Dravid currently holds the world record for the most number of catches in Test cricket. Dravid has also been involved in more than 80 century partnerships with 18 different partners and has been involved in 19 century partnerships with Sachin Tendulkar – a world record.

Early life and family

Dravid was born in Indore, Madhya Pradesh into a Maharashtrian Deshastha family living in Karnataka. He was raised in Bangalore, Karnataka. He has a younger brother, Vijay. Dravid's father worked for Kissan, a company known for producing jams and preserves and thus he earned the nickname ''Jammy'' from his teammates at St. Joseph's Boys' High School. His mother, Pushpa, was a professor of architecture at Bangalore University. Rahul Dravid has a degree in commerce from St. Joseph's College of Commerce, Bangalore.

Dravid started playing cricket at the age of 12, and represented the state at the under-15, under-17 and under-19 level. Rahul's talents were first spotted by former cricketer Keki Tarapore who was coaching at a summer coaching camp at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. He went on to score a century on debut for his school team. Along with the batting, he was keeping wickets. However, he later stopped keeping wickets on advice from former Test players Gundappa Vishwanath, Roger Binny, Brijesh Patel and Tarapore.

He was selected to make his Ranji Trophy debut in February 1991 against Maharashtra in Pune (while still attending college at St. Joseph's College of Commerce in Bangalore), alongside future Indian teammates Anil Kumble and Javagal Srinath, scoring 82 in a drawn match after batting in the No. 7 position. His first full season was in 1991–92, when he scored two centuries to finish with 380 runs at an average of 63.3, and was selected for South Zone in the Duleep Trophy.

On 4 May 2003, he married Vijeta Pendharkar, a surgeon from Nagpur. They have two children, Samit (born 2005) and Anvay (born 2009).

Cricketing career

1995–98: Beginning

Dravid had a disappointing start to his career making his debut in one-dayers against Sri Lankan cricket team in the Singer Cup in Singapore immediately after World Cup in March 1996, replacing Vinod Kambli. Subsequently, he was dropped from the team, until he was picked again for the tour of England.

He then made his debut in the Second Test against England along with Sourav Ganguly,when Sanjay Manjrekar got injured after the first Test match on that tour.

Dravid scored 95 and held his position on Manjrekar's return for the Third Test, scoring 84. After moderate performance in home series against Australia and South Africa, Dravid broke through on the 1996–97 tour of South Africa. He batted at No. 3 in the third Test in Johannesburg, scoring his maiden century with 148 and 81, the top score in each innings to claim his first man of the match award. He made his first half-century against Pakistan in the Sahara Cup in 1996, scoring 90 in his 10th ODI.

In the 18 months ending in mid-1998, he played in an away series against the West Indies, home and away series against Sri Lanka and a home series against Australia, he scored consistently, with 964 runs at an average of 56.7. He scored eleven half-centuries but was unable to convert them to triple figures . He scored his second century in late 1998 against Zimbabwe in a one-off Test match, top-scoring in both innings with 148 and 44, but was unable to prevent an Indian defeat . He became the third Indian batsman after Vijay Hazare and Sunil Gavaskar to score centuries in both innings of a match during the 1999 New Year's Test match against New Zealand with 190 and 103* to force a draw. He had a moderate season in the subcontinent in early 1999, scoring 269 runs at an average of 38.42 with one century before scoring 239 at an average of 39.8 including a century against New Zealand in late 1999. This was followed by a poor away series against Australia and another poor home series against South Africa, accumulating just 187 runs at an average of 18.7. He then scored 200*, his first double century, against Zimbabwe in Delhi, which along with 70* in the second innings helped India to victory. It was the first time he had passed 50 in 12 months and he followed this with a 162 in the following Test, giving him 432 runs in the two match series at an average of 432 .

1999: World Cup success

Dravid was top scorer in the 7th World Cup (1999), scoring 461 runs. He is the only Indian to score two back to back centuries at the World Cup. He scored 110 vs Kenya and followed it with a masterly 145 against Sri Lanka in Taunton, in a match where he kept wickets. He was vice captain during 2003 World cup where India reached the final, serving his team in the dual capacity of a batsman and wicket keeper to accommodate an additional batsman, a move that paid huge dividends for India. Dravid was the captain during the 2007 cricket world cup in West Indies, where Indian cricket team had a dismal campaign.

Post 2000

In the second test of a three match test series against Australia at Kolkata in 2001, Dravid joined hands with VVS Laxman to produce one of the greatest comeback victories in the history of the game. Following on, the pair put on 376 runs for the fifth wicket in the second innings of the match. Dravid scored 180 while Laxman made 281. Though Dravid ended up second-best, it remains one of his greatest performances till date. Later that year in Port Elizabeth against South Africa, he made a crucial match-saving 87 runs in the second innings to deny South Africa the win.

2002 was the year, when Dravid started to emerge out of Tendulkar's shadow and established himself as India's premier Test batsman. In the month of April, at Georgetown, West Indies in first test match of the series, he scored an unbeaten 144 in the first innings after being hit by a Mervyn Dillon delivery. Later that year, he raked up four consecutive centuries against England (3) and West Indies (1). In August 2002, against England at Headingley Stadium, Leeds in the third test match of the series, he scored a 148 in the first innings on a seamer-friendly pitch to set up a famous Indian win. He won the man of the match award for this performance. Dravid's astonishing aggregate of 602 runs in the four match test series against England also fetched him the man of the series award.

In 2003–2004 season, Dravid scored three double centuries, one each against New Zealand, Australia and Pakistan. Against Australia at Adelaide in second match of the four match series, the batting pair of Dravid and VVS Laxman proved to be Australia's nemesis again. In the first innings, India were looking down the barrel at 4 wickets down for 85 runs in reply to Australia's massive 556 when the duo joined hands. By the time their partnership was broken, the pair had put on 303 runs. Laxman was dismissed for 148 while Dravid went on make 233. At that time, this was the highest individual score by an Indian batsman overseas. By the time Dravid was done, India was only 33 short of Australia's first innings score. Dravid followed this with an unbeaten 72 under immense pressure in the second innings to set up a famous victory. Dravid scored 619 runs in that four-match series against Australia at an average of 103.16 and won the man of the series award. During the later part of the season, Dravid, in Ganguly's absence, led India to its first test victory over Pakistan in Pakistan in the first test match at Multan. In the third and the final match of the series At Rawalpindi, Dravid stroked a masterly 270 to take India to a historic test series win over Pakistan.

Playing style

With a strong technique, he has been the backbone for the Indian cricket team. Beginning with the reputation of being a defensive batsman who should be confined to Test cricket, he was dropped from ODIs as he was slow in making runs. However, in a period of his career he began consistently scoring runs in ODIs as well, earning him the award of ICC player of the year. His nickname of 'The Wall' in Reebok advertisements has now become a tribute to his consistency. Dravid has scored 35 centuries in Test cricket at an average of 53.00, including 5 double centuries. In one-dayers too he has an impressive average of 39.49, although at a strike rate of 71.22. He is one of the few Indians who average more at away Test matches than at home, averaging about 5 more runs a match abroad than on Indian pitches. As of 23 September 2010, Dravid's average in overseas Tests stood at 55.53 as against his home Test average of 50.76, and his average for away ODI stands at 37.93 as against home ODI average of 43.11. In matches that India has won, Dravid averages 66.34 in Tests and 50.69 in ODIs.

Dravid's sole Test wicket was that of Ridley Jacobs in the fourth Test against the West Indies during the 2001–2002 series. While he has no pretensions to being a bowler, Dravid often kept wicket for India in ODIs. He has since delegated the wicket-keeping gloves, first to Parthiv Patel and more recently to Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Dravid is now purely a batsman, one who has averaged 63.51 in matches played since 1 January 2000.

Dravid was involved in two of the largest partnerships in ODIs: a 318-run partnership with Sourav Ganguly, the first pair to combine for a 300-run partnership, and then a 331-run partnership with Sachin Tendulkar, which is the present world record. He also holds the record for the greatest number of innings since debut before being dismissed for a duck. His highest scores in ODIs and Tests are 153 and 270 respectively. Uniquely, each of his five double centuries in Tests was a higher score than his previous double century (200*, 217, 222, 233, 270).

Also, Dravid is the current world record holder for the highest percentage(%) contribution of runs scored in matches won under a single captain, where the captain has won more than 20 Tests. In the 21 Test matches India won under Sourav Ganguly's leadership, Dravid played his part in every single one of those wins, scoring at a record average of 102.84 and piling up an astonishing 2571 runs, with nine hundreds – three of them double-centuries – and ten fifties in 32 innings. He contributed nearly 23% of the total runs scored by India those 21 matches, which is almost one run out of every four runs the team scored.

He was named one of the Wisden cricketers of the year 2000. Though primarily a defensive batsman,Dravid has scored 50 not out in 22 balls(Strike Rate-227.27)vs NewZealand in Hydrabad on 15 Nov 2003,second fastest 50 among Indians.Only Ajit Agarkar 67 of 21 balls is faster than Dravid.

In 2004, Dravid was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India. On 7 September 2004, he was awarded the inaugural Player of the year award and the Test player of the year by the International Cricket Council, ICC (associated image below). Dravid's batting average of 95.46 in the past year has made him the only Indian to be in the Test team of the year. On 18 March 2006, Dravid played his 100th Test against England in Mumbai.

In 2005, a biography of Rahul Dravid written by Devendra Prabhudesai was published, 'The Nice Guy Who Finished First'.

In the 2005 ICC Awards he was the only Indian to be named to the World one-day XI.

In 2006, it was announced that he would remain captain of the Indian team up to the 2007 World Cup in the West Indies.

After the England Series however, he stepped down as captain of India due to personal reasons. Mahendra Singh Dhoni took over as ODI captain. Anil Kumble replaced him in test matches.

In 2007, he was dropped from the Indian ODI Squad following poor series against Australia. Dravid went back to play for Karnataka in the Ranji Trophy, scoring 218 against Mumbai.

In 2008, he made 93 in the first innings of the Perth test, the highest score of the match, to help India win and make the series 1–2. However, he was ignored by selectors for the subsequent one-day tri-series.

After a barren run in Test matches in 2008, Dravid came under increasing media pressure to retire or be dropped. In the Second Test against England in Mohali, he scored 136, putting on a triple-century stand with Gautam Gambhir.

After reaching 10,000 test runs milestone, he was quoted saying, "It's a proud moment for sure. For me, growing up, I dreamt of playing for India. When I look back, I probably exceeded my expectations with what I have done over the last 10 to 12 years. I never had an ambition to do it because I never believed – it is just a reflection of my longevity in the game."

Teams

International

India (current)

ACC Asian XI

ICC World XI

MCC

Indian first-class

Karnataka

South Zone

Indian Premier League

Royal Challengers Bangalore

Rajasthan Royals

English county

Kent

Scotland

Controversies

Ball-tampering incident

In January 2004 Dravid was found guilty of ball tampering during an ODI with Zimbabwe. Match referee Clive Lloyd adjudged the application of an energy sweet to the ball as a deliberate offence although Dravid himself denied this was his intent. Lloyd emphasised that television footage caught Dravid putting a lozenge on the ball during the Zimbabwean innings on Tuesday night at the Gabba. According to the ICC's Code of Conduct, players are not allowed to apply substances to the ball other than sweat and saliva. Dravid was fined half of his earnings from the match.

Indian coach John Wright came out in defence of Dravid, stating that "It was an innocent mistake". Wright argued that Dravid had been trying to apply saliva to the ball when parts of a losenge he had been chewing stuck to the ball; Dravid then tried to wipe it off. ICC regulations prevented Dravid from commenting about the issue, but former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly also stated that Dravid's act was "just an accident".

Multan declaration

One of Dravid's most debated decisions was taken in March 2004, when he was standing in as captain for an injured Sourav Ganguly. The Indian first innings was declared at a point when Sachin Tendulkar was at 194 with 16 overs remaining on Day 2. Rahul Dravid has had a mixed record when leading India in Tests. India lost the Karachi Test in 2006, giving Pakistan the series 1–0. In March 2006, India lost the Mumbai Test, giving England its first Test victory in India since 1985, enabling Flintoff's men to draw the series 1–1. While the loss in Karachi could be put down to several Indian batsmen playing badly, the defeat in Mumbai was arguably the result of Dravid's decision to bowl first on a flat dry pitch which later deteriorated and ended with an Indian collapse in the run chase. Coincidentally, it was Dravid's 100th test match in which the Indians were all out for 100 runs in the second innings. He was criticised by Vijay Mallya for not picking the team with right balance after the Bangalore Royal Challengers finished seventh out of the eight teams that played in the 2008 Indian Premier League. After India failed to qualify for the Finals of the DLF Cup, Indian skipper Rahul Dravid was criticised by former all-rounder Ravi Shastri who said that he was not assertive enough and let Greg Chappell make too many decisions. When asked for a response, Dravid said that Shastri, while a 'fair critic', was 'not privy' to the internal decision-making process of the team.

Biographies

Rahul Dravid has 2 biographies written on his career:

Rahul Dravid – A Biography written by Vedam Jaishankar (ISBN 81-7476-481-X). Publisher: UBSPD Publications. Date: January 2004

The Nice Guy Who Finished First written by Devendra Prabhudesai. Publisher: Rupa Publications. Date: November 2005

Other work

Commercial endorsements

Reebok: 1996 – ''present'' Pepsi: 1997 ''present'' Kissan: ''Unknown'' Castrol: 2001 – ''present'' Hutch: 2003 Karnataka Tourism: 2004 Max Life: 2005 – ''present'' Bank of Baroda: 2005 – ''present'' Citizen: 2006 – ''present'' Skyline Construction: 2006 – ''present'' Sansui: 2007 Gillette: 2007 – ''present'' Samsung: 2002 – 2004

Social commitments

Children's Movement for Civic Awareness (CMCA) UNICEF Supporter and AIDS Awareness Campaign

See also

List of international cricket centuries by Rahul Dravid

List of awards and achievements of Rahul Dravid

References

External links

CricketFundas Interview with Rahul Dravid

HindustanTimes.com Player Profile

HowSTAT! statistical profile on Rahul Dravid

PwC Batsman Rankings

Rahul Dravid-ToI

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Category:Indian cricketers Category:India Test cricketers Category:India One Day International cricketers Category:Indian Test captains Category:Indian cricket captains Category:Indian wicket-keepers Category:Wisden Cricketers of the Year Category:Karnataka cricketers Category:South Zone cricketers Category:Kent cricketers Category:Scotland cricketers Category:ACC Asian XI One Day International cricketers Category:ICC World XI One Day International cricketers Category:World XI Test cricketers Category:World Cup cricketers of India Category:Cricketers at the 1999 Cricket World Cup Category:Cricketers at the 2003 Cricket World Cup Category:Cricketers at the 2007 Cricket World Cup Category:Indian Premier League cricketers Category:Recipients of the Padma Shri Category:1973 births Category:Living people Category:People from Indore Category:People from Bangalore Category:Bangalore cricketers Category:Canterbury cricketers Category:Recipients of the Arjuna Award Category:MCC cricketers

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