Rahul Dravid celebrates his 47th birthday on January 11, 2020. On <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/photos/rahul-dravid-turns-39/2008" target="_blank">Rahul Dravid's birthday</a>, we look back at the impact the batting legend had on Indian cricket and why Rahul Dravid was known as the 'Wall' of the batting line up.
For many years, the Indian batting lineup was regarded as lame ducks while playing abroad. They used to fall like nine pins, without putting up a fight, That is until Rahul Dravid came into the scene.
Rahul Dravid, who turned 47, took the burden of India's batting performances on his strong shoulders and starting commanding the opposition's respect whenever India was playing away from home.
Rahul Dravid's Test statistics proved that he was no less than any batting great that has left the game. Rahul Dravid played 164 Tests for India, scoring a mammoth 13,288 runs, hitting 36 tons, at an average of 52.31.
Rahul Dravid was also known for the incredibly long innings he used to play at the crease. He used to bat downtime, opposition's will-power and the bowler's aggression, eventually forcing the opposite team into submission.
Let's do a quick recap of 5 instances, where Rahul Dravid's incredibly long innings proved vital for the Indian team:
<h2>Rahul Dravid's 270 runs off 495 balls in 12 hours, 20 minutes vs Pakistan in Rawalpindi</h2>
Rahul Dravid scored a mammoth 270 in India's first innings against Pakistan in a 2004 Test. The right-hander played for 740 minutes at the crease, frustrating Inzamam-ul-haq's men. India went on to win the match by an innings and 131 runs.
<h2>Rahul Dravid's 217 runs from 468 balls in 10 hours, 30 minutes vs England in London</h2>
Responding to England's huge first innings score of 515 runs, India scored 508 runs with Rahul Dravid anchoring the innings scoring 217 runs. The match ended in a draw with Rahul Dravid being adjudged 'Man of the Match'.
<h2>Rahul Dravid's 233 runs from 446 balls in 9 hours, 54 minutes vs Australia at Adelaide</h2>
&nbsp;The 'Wall' stood tall for India against Australia in a Test in 2003. Rahul Dravid played arguably the best Test innings of his career scoring 233 runs in 594 minutes. India won the match by 4 wickets, writing one of the memorable chapters in India's Test history.
<h2>Rahul Dravid's 148 runs from 362 balls in 9 hours, 1 minute vs South Africa in Johannesburg</h2>
Another monumental effort by Rahul Dravid, when he held fort for India scoring a stylish 148 against a pace attack that consisted of fast bowling legends like Alan Donald and Shaun Pollock. The match eventually ended in a draw, but it was best remembered for Dravid's technical master-class against bowling greats.
<h2>Rahul Dravid's 12 runs from 96 balls in at a strike rate of 12.50 vs England in London</h2>
&nbsp;Known as one of the slowest innings in Test cricket history, Rahul Dravid crawled to 12 runs in a span of 2 hours and 20 minutes. The 'Great Indian Wall' was almost unbreakable that day as India fetched a draw from the Test match.
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