4 things that Rahul Dravid achieved In Tests that Sachin Tendulkar could not
Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid are two of the greatest batsmen produced by India in Test cricket. Between them, the two legendary batsmen have scored over 29000 Test runs and an ethereal 87 Test hundreds.
Tendulkar was a master craftsman- a batsman who made the ball obey his command. His straight drive down the ground made even the best of bowlers cringe in disbelief. He made batting look so easy and was a magician who bewitched the cricketing world.
Dravid, on the other hand, was a man blessed with impeccable technique and a monk-like concentration. Dravid was a technician, a man who showed us that hard work and perseverance can take you to great heights in life. His square cut through the off side and his flick past mid-wicket were right out of the coaching manual.
The two legendary batsmen, over the course of 2 decades conjured several classics against a variety of bowling attacks.
In this article, let us look at 4 things that Dravid has achieved in Tests that Tendulkar couldn’t.
#4 Two hundreds in the same Test
Dravid is one of the three Indian batsmen to have scored 2 hundreds in the same Test (the other two being Sunil Gavaskar and Virat Kohli).
In the year 1999, Dravid scored a magnificent 190 against New Zealand at Hamilton in India’s first innings. He then followed that up with another 103* in the second innings as well.
Then, in the year 2005, in a Test match against arch-rivals Pakistan at the iconic Eden Gardens in Kolkata, Dravid scored 110 and 135 in the 2 innings that he played in the Test match.
On the other hand, Tendulkar featured in a colossal 200 Test matches for India, but not once could the master manage to score 2 hundreds in the same Test.
#3 250 runs in a Test innings
Tendulkar scored 6 double hundreds during the course of his unprecedented Test career, but not once could the ‘Little Master’ manage to score a 250 in Test cricket. Tendulkar’s highest Test score came in the year 2004, when he scored 248* against Bangladesh.
On the other hand, Dravid scored a match-winning 270 against Pakistan at Rawalpindi that allowed India to register a famous series win on Pakistan soil.
Well, Tendulkar is the owner of most of the records in Test match cricket, but a 250 in Test cricket always eluded the master. As they say, you can’t have everything in life.