Rahul Dravid will play his final ODI for India when he takes the field against England in Cardiff on Friday. For someone who has always been primarily looked at as a Test cricketer, Dravid has been no mug in the limited overs format. He has represented India in 343 matches so far, at an average of 39.06.
Dravid is the 7th highest run-scorer in ODIs and one of only eight batsmen to have scored 10,000 plus runs in one day games - SR Tendulkar {18111}, RT Ponting {13602}, ST Jayasuriya {13430}, Inzamam-ul-Haq {11739}, SC Ganguly {11363}, JH Kallis {11227}, R Dravid {10820} and BC Lara {10405}. He crossed the landmark in February 2007 while batting against Sri Lanka in Goa.
It took Dravid 35 ODIs and a spate of half centuries to register his maiden hundred - 107 against Pakistan in Chennai in May 1997. This Independence Cup match is remembered for Saeed Anwar's 194 which was the highest individual ODI score at that point of time and won the game for Pakistan.
After being dropped from the ODI team in 1998, Rahul Dravid made a spectacular comeback during the tour to New Zealand. Later that season he followed it up by becoming the highest scorer of the 1999 World Cup where he made 461 runs at an average of 65.85. This was despite the fact that India could not progress beyond the super six stage. The tournament also saw him score back to back centuries.
His ODI career-best knock of 153 runs came in a world record 331-run stand (for any wicket) with Sachin Tendulkar against New Zealand at Hyderabad in 1999. This continues to be the highest ODI partnership for any wicket. This partnership broke his record 318-run stand with Sourav Ganguly against Sri Lanka in the 1999 World Cup. He is the only cricketer to have two 300 plus run partnerships against his name.
Dravid has kept wickets in 73 one day games and effected 84 dismissals - 71 catches and 13 stumpings. His batting record actually improved as a keeper. He scored 2300 runs at an average of 44.23. He took on the extra responsibility so that India could accommodate an extra batsman. A lot of the success India enjoyed under Ganguly's leadership, including their place in the 2003 World Cup final could be attributed to this move.
Dravid led India for close to two years before he resigned in September 2007. He is most often remembered for being at the helm during India's early ouster from the 2007 World Cup, but otherwise had a overall successful run as skipper. He captained India in 79 ODIs out of which they won 42, lost 33 and 4 games yielded no result.
During Dravid's reign as captain, India broke the 14-match record that West Indies held for the most consecutive successful run-chases in ODIs. Dravid was the captain for 15 of the 17 games while Sourav Ganguly was captain for the other two.
Dravid was dropped from the ODI team on 3 occasions. The first time was in 1998 on the pretext that his strike rate was not up to the mark for the one day format. The second time was in 2007 just under two months after he voluntarily gave up captaincy. He was brought back in 2009 to rescue the Indian ODI team in South Africa's pace friendly conditions for the Champions Trophy. He played in just two series and despite performing well he was dropped once again.
In yet another example of the selectors giving him a raw deal, Dravid was selected for the Indian limited overs side for the tour of England after a gap of almost two years. The same day he announced that this would be his final ODI series and that the selection had come as a surprise to him. He claimed that the only reason he had not announced his ODI retirement was because he had not been picked for two years. The only solace for his fans - this time he’s leaving on his own terms.
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