Here's the next chapter, hope you like it.
Dedicated to @EternallyMortal.
And, thanks for giving 200 reads.
Early 2000
Summer 2000
County cricket comes calling
Dravid turns out for Kent, and guess who the club's coach is? John Wright. There is a meeting of minds, and the rest is history. "The arrival of Rahul Dravid to enhance our batting is a major boost. It is great news to have a batsman of Dravid's class in the team," Wright declares. Dravid tops the Kent averages with 1,039 runs at 49.48.
November 18-22, 2000
After Andy Flower sweeps his way to 183 in Delhi, Dravid responds with 200, off 350 balls with 27 fours, and follows up with a breezy 91-ball 70 in the second innings, adding 110 runs for the third wicket with Ganguly, as India chase down the target of 190 in 37.3 overs with 9.3 overs and seven wickets to spare.
Another century - 162 in the second Test and the fact that he was dismissed only once in the series, gives him an astounding series average of 432.
March 11-15, 2001
No Indian fan can ever forget Kolkata in 2001. Dismissed by Shane Warne twice in three innings and demoted to No.6, Dravid has a point to prove.
In the second innings, he joins VVS Laxman, with India still needing 42 runs to avoid an innings defeat, and lifts India from ignominy to incredible triumph. Warne is creamed for 41 runs in 51 balls.
June-September 2002
The great run-fest
Four centuries on a trot. Three against England - 115 in the second Test , 148 in the third in a match India win, 217 - his first double hundred against England - in the fourth Test - and then follows them up with an unbeaten 100 against West Indies .
October 16-20, 2003
First taste of captaincy
Against New Zealand in Mohali, Dravid stands in for the indisposed Ganguly. In the drawn first Test, he compiles a mammoth 222 but, in the second, fails with the bat (1 and 5) and generally has a nightmarish Test as a captain.
Despite centuries from Laxman and Sehwag, India are forced to follow-on after four top-order centuries see New Zealand run away to 630. However, India manage to draw the game.
December 2003-January 2004
The Dravid and Laxman show hits the road again in the second Test against Australia. After Australia amass 556, the duo come together just after tea on the second day and are not separated till the last over before tea on the third, by which time they add 303 for the fifth wicket , and power India to 523.
After Ajit Agarkar comes up with his best performance to lay the foundation for a win, Dravid again stars in the second essay, remaining unbeaten on 72, taking India to a famous win. He also hits 90 plus scores in the remaining two Tests to top the Indian averages - 619 runs at a staggering 123.80.
April 13-17, 2004
After two quiet Tests he explodes in the third Test with his highest score yet - a magnificent 270, paving the way for a series win against Pakistan.
November 3-7, 2004
Last man standing
A minefield awaits the two teams, with the series already in Australia's bag, in the last last Test. While the Indian top-order is whipped by a rampaging Jason Gillespie, Dravid, leading the side, holds one end up. Groping with the demons in the pitch, he is the only Indian batsman to bat more than 100 deliveries and is left stranded on 31.
Sparkling half-centuries from Laxman and Tendulkar in the second innings set up the game for Harbhajan and Murali Kartik to spin India to a thrilling 13-run win.
December 17-21, 2004
First man in history
A 160 against Bangladesh in Chittagong, 2004 gives him a unique record - he is the first player to score centuries in all Test-playing countries.
And until the ICC decides to give some new country Test status, Dravid's record can only be equalled, not broken.
