The Hindu : Sport : `The Wall' is as cool as ever

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Tuesday, Aug 02, 2005

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Sport

`The Wall' is as cool as ever

Sanjay Rajan

PHOTO: V.V. KRISHNAN

ICEMAN COMETH: Rahul Dravid, who is in good touch, hopes to continue the good work in the IndianOil Cup tri-series

DAMBULLA: An iron fist in a silk glove. That's what Rahul Dravid is — be it as batsman or captain.

The Indian skipper spent Monday afternoon at the pool in the quaint setting of the Culture Club. Surely, there must be a million thoughts going through his mind.

Back-to-back matches can be difficult, especially if you have begun the campaign on a losing note. Dravid led from the front to pull one over a weak West Indies line-up on Sunday. The victory wasn't as easy as it appeared to be, though.

Difficult decisions

Tougher battles lay ahead for his inexperienced side in the IndianOil Cup tri-series and some difficult decisions also need to be taken.

Sourav Ganguly has arrived, and V.V.S. Laxman isn't completely fit yet. Then, there is a raging debate over why Anil Kumble — Dravid's Statemate and friend for many years — was not played in the first two ODIs.

India, for some time now, has relied on a three-man pace attack in one-dayers and Harbhajan, for obvious reasons, has always won precedence over Kumble for the lone spinner's slot. Dravid has stuck to this success formula, though the conditions here are spinner-friendly.

True professional

But you realise there lay a hard-as-nails professional behind that refined exterior when Dravid says, "Leaving Anil out is one of the hardest decisions to take. But we have got to pick the four bowlers we think who will do the job in the given conditions. Harbhajan is bowling really well."

"Anil is a great cricketer and a champion human being. I have talked to him about this; Greg has spoken to him as well. It is not easy for us and not easy for him. But we got to do what's best for the team on the given day. Anil understands the situation," he said.

The lack of a fifth bowler has been a problem area for India in the tournament so far, with Virender Sehwag and Suresh Raina proving to be expensive against the West Indies.

"We have not been blessed with many allrounders. It's a question of ensuring Sehwag and Raina get enough to bowl and get better, which might give us more options," said Dravid.

Suave and smooth, his is not the upfront, look-people-in-the-eye approach. That was Sourav Ganguly's defining quality as leader. Dravid is different: the quiet efficiency of a hard-nosed campaigner.

Dravid has stood in for Ganguly as captain in five Tests and 12 one-dayers, but this is the first occasion that he has been named captain for a full series. Dravid led impressively in the first two Tests against Pakistan on the 2003-04 tour of Pakistan, but the final Test against Australia on that minefield of a pitch at the Wankhede Stadium confirmed that here was a new Iceman — so cool and composed was he. India had lost the series in the third Test on a green top at Nagpur, where Dravid led after Ganguly pulled out at the last minute citing a dodgy back.

At Mumbai, the Bangalorean marshalled his resources magnificently — the spin combination was Kumble and left-armer Murali Kartik — and made sure that Ricky Ponting and company did not end the tour on a winning note.

Major part

As Ganguly's deputy for the last three years, Dravid has played no mean part in the side's success both as a batsman and key member of the think tank. This has also provided him a deep understanding of the team and its needs.

The good thing is that Dravid has not allowed the cares of captaincy to affect his batsmanship. On the other hand, it only seems to have motivated him further. `The Wall' scored two half-centuries in two matches here so far.

The Indian batting had collapsed at the fall of the skipper's wicket in the first match against Sri Lanka, but Dravid didn't leave anything to chance against the West Indies as he stayed till the very end. About his form, Dravid said, "It feels good to begin the season well. It's nice to come back and bat well after a one-and-a-half month break. There is a lot of cricket left. So I hope I can keep this going."

In what is clearly a display of solidarity, Ganguly has said he would support the skipper in every which way. This augurs well for Indian cricket.

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