12 Innings when Rahul Dravid broke the myth of being just a Test batsman

2. 145 (129) v Sri Lanka, Taunton, 1999:

Rahul Dravid’s first big hundred in his ODI career came at a strike rate of 112 in a World Cup against Sri Lanka in Taunton. Coming out to bat at no. 3 when Chaminda Vaas was seaming the ball around, Dravid started cautiously but didn’t take much time to settle in. Once he struck 3 fours in the 6th over of the innings it became impossible for the Lankans to stop Dravid.

He didn’t let any loose delivery go unpunished. He drove, cut, pulled and flicked the ball and by the end of the 10th over, India was scoring at a run rate of 7 runs per over. Without playing any rash shots, Rahul matched Sourav Ganguly stroke for stroke. For a man who was considered unfit for the shorter format of the game, he was the aggressor in the partnership with Ganguly and outscored him in terms of scoring both his fifty and his hundred.

After completing his ton with the straight-batted shots, Dravid played the lofts and the heave shots, scoring the last 45 runs in just 27 deliveries. In the end, it was a run out that put curtains on Dravid’s innings as no bowler seemed like dismissing him. That was the second successive century for him in the World Cup and it was the first ever 300-plus partnership in ODI cricket but yet Dravid’s inning was overshadowed by that of Ganguly who ended up scoring 183 off 158.