Dravid was not entirely wrong in criticising Sehwag

Dravid's invective was not totally out of order, given Sehwag's repeated instances of irresponsible and patently selfish batting

Dravid's invective was not totally out of order, given Sehwag's repeated instances of irresponsible and patently selfish batting

What a magnificent, marathon fight-back, that a gallant performance that will go down in the annals of Test cricket as a memorable one!

More than three days of dogged, battling resistance albeit on a placid track after a follow-on against a determined attack by the heroic Gautam Gambhir, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, Rahul Dravid, and Yuvraj Singh to salvage the Napier Test against New Zealand.

The resolute batting by the Indian batsmen, inspired by the indomitable Gautam Gambhir's near 11-hour defiance, will almost certainly rank alongside India's epic 2001 Kolkata victoryu00a0 over Australia, fashioned largely by the amazing 357-run stand between VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid, that has become the stuff of cricketing legend.

poor Shot! New Zealand wicketkeeper Brendon McCullum (left) celebrates the wicket of India's Virender Sehwag lbw for 22 by Jeetan Patel in the second Test at McLean Park in Napier recently

Those close to Rahul Sharad Dravid know only too well that the batting and fielding great is a gentleman to the core: as correct in deportment as in batting technique, modest to a fault, invariably courteous, unfailingly mindful of norms of sportsmanship and unwavering in loyalty to team and country.

He is not given to intemperate outbursts. Therefore, his seemingly angry outburst at the press conference in Napier last Sunday against stand-in captain Virender Sehwag was uncharacteristically indisciplined, divisive and potentially detrimental to team spirit.

"I don't know the meaning of playing your normal game all the time," Dravid said.

"You have to play according to the situation of the game. That's the way great players have done over the years."

Dravid also said great players know how to read situations and play according to them, adding that's the way the players he has admired and watched over the years have played.

Lavishing praise on Gambhir, Dravid said: "There cannot be only one way of playing the game. You've got to play differently, according to the situation. The good ones adapt," he said.

Viewed in correct perspective, Dravid's invective, although ill-advised, was not totally out of order, given Sehwag's repeated instances of irresponsible and patently selfish batting as often manifest in his throwing away his wicket without regard for the team's interest, a propensity which, along with his curious marshalling of his resources at Napier, prompted former New Zealand Test player Martin Crowe to label the opener "the worst captain ever".