[Watch] When current India coach Rahul Dravid made the honors board with his maiden century at Lord's in 2011
On this day in 2011, current Indian head coach Rahul Dravid recorded his first-ever century against England in a Test match at the Lord's Cricket Stadium.
Added to the histrionics of Dravid making the Lord's honors board in 2011 was that the champion batter was inches away from reaching the milestone on his Test debut at the same venue in 1996. In that game, the former Indian skipper came into bat at No.7 and scored a sensational 96 before falling short of achieving a famous century at Lord's.
Ironically, Dravid's long-time teammate Sourav Ganguly also debuted in the game and scored a century.
However, despite missing out on the Lord's Century in the next couple of English tours in 2002 and 2007, the 50-year-old ensured to set the record straight with a magnificent ton in 2011.
Here is a highlights package of Dravid's stupendous knock at the Lord's Cricket Stadium:
A century that was 15 years in the making ✍️
#OnThisDay, Rahul Dravid made the Lord's Honours Boards.
#LoveLords pic.twitter.com/YKgqlY1eLb
Rahul Dravid was the lone Indian batter to score even a half-century in the game, leading India to avoid the follow-on target with his unbeaten century.
After the hosts punished the Indian bowlers to score a massive 474/8 in their first innings, India made 286 in their first essay. However, the elegant right-hander could not stop India from suffering a heavy defeat as the visitors went down by 196 runs to concede a 1-0 series lead.
For the record, Dravid boasted spectacular numbers throughout his Test career at Lord's, scoring an average of 59 in four games.
Rahul Dravid's 2011 Tour of England - A Performance for the ages
Rahul Dravid had some of his most iconic and heroic moments in England throughout his illustrious international career. Following his 96 on Test debut at Lord's, the champion batter finished as the leading run-scorer in the 1999 World Cup in England.
He had arguably the best Test series of his career in the 2002 English tour, scoring 602 runs in four games at an average of over 100. Dravid then captained Team India to a resounding series win in England in 2007.
However, one could argue none of his previous accomplishments matched the show Dravid put on in the 2011 Test series in England. Following his heroics in the Lord's Test, the Karnataka-born cricketer had a game for the history books in the second Test at Nottingham.
Opening the batting, the current Indian coach smashed another century, single-handedly carrying the side's batting to respectability. Despite missing out on a substantial score in the third Test, Dravid capped off the Test series with undoubtedly his best performance, considering the circumstances.
Having to open as a make-shit option due to Gautam Gambhir's concussion injury, the former Karnataka batter scored an unbeaten 146, carrying his team on his shoulders. Dravid came out minutes later to open the batting again after India were forced to follow on in one of the most applauded moves in cricket history.
Despite India's 0-4 hammering at the hands of the hosts, Rahul Dravid's historic batting remains etched in the memories of Indian cricket fans around the globe.
The legendary batter mastered English conditions in his career like very few, with an overall batting average of 68.80, including six centuries in 13 Tests.