Rahul Dravid's achievements as captain
When we talk about Indian cricket captains in the 21st century, we talk about the 'Ganguly-era', the 'Dhoni-era' and now the 'Kohli-era'. But we always end up ignoring the 'Dravid-era', which panned from 2005 to 2007 and was marred by the Sourav Ganguly-Greg Chappel controversy. Rahul Dravid as a leader is known more for India's first round exit in the 2007 Cricket World Cup and often we forget the things that Indian cricket achieved under him.
Dravid took over the captaincy from Ganguly in late 2005, after the latter had been dropped from the team, following the controversy with the then-Indian coach, Chappel. Dravid captained India in a total of 25 Tests and 79 ODIs, winning eight and 42, respectively. From a plethora of successful ODI chases to winning a Test series overseas, Indian cricket witnessed some path-breaking highs in the Dravidian era.
We always celebrate Dravid's accomplishments as a batsman but let us also celebrate his success as a captain.Here's a rewind to some of the great wins Indian Cricket achieved under him.
#4 A world record of 17 successful ODI run-chases
Ever since India won the ODI series against the arch-rivals in their historic tour of Pakistan in 2003/04, they had endured a prolonged phase of mediocrity that saw them get knocked out in the first round of Champions Trophy in 2004 and lose to Pakistan at home (2-4 in 2005). Dravid's immediate task after he took over, was to address the downward spiral of the former world champions, starting from a seven-match series against Sri Lanka at home.
The change of guard in captaincy worked wonders for India, as they went on winning bilateral series against Sri Lanka, England and Pakistan. In their sojourn, India created a plethora of records, none bigger than the seventeen consecutive successful run chases, fifteen of which came under Dravid, surpassing the record of fourteen, previously held by the West Indies. Ironically, the streak was broken by the Caribbean team itself on 20th May 2006, when Dwayne Bravo flabbergasted Yuvraj Singh with a slower ball and scripted a famous win for the hosts, in the second ODI of the series played at Kingston, Jamaica. The feat achieved under Dravid remains on top of the pedestal.