From bad to worse

These dismissals sum up the Dravid of March to December, 2008. Just after that 111 against South Africa, he had travelled to Ahmedabad and got the ball of the series as Dale Steyn knocked his off stump. Next he found himself on a treacherous Kanpur track, where a vicious delivery suddenly jumped at him. The Indian Premier League (IPL) experience also proved to be an ordeal as poor form and the short-on-patience owners’ outburst over auction-day decisions gave Dravid the kind of pressure he was so keen to avoid.

The tour to Sri Lanka that followed proved to be a trip where ‘the phasing out the seniors’ debate reached a fever pitch. Since Dravid got out to the story of the tour, Ajantha Mendis, thrice in the first two Tests, after a long time the focus was on the failure of a batsman known for his flawless technique. In the final game of the tour, Dravid did manage to read Mendis, but it was too late from the perspective of the series.

The subsequent series against Australia too started well for Dravid, with a half-century. But that proved to be the only thing that went his way in the four Tests, and with Sourav Ganguly and Anil Kumble bowing out, Dravid’s slump came sharply into focus. ‘The Wall crumbles’ became the most clichéd headline doing the rounds.

Unlike Sri Lanka, where Mendis had his number, the list of Australian bowlers who got Dravid’s wicket included medium-pacer Shane Watson, paceman Brett Lee, left-arm seamer Mitchell Johnson and off-spinner Jason Krejza.

... contd.