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

6. 99 (104) v Pakistan, Karachi, 2004:

India were playing Pakistan in Pakistan after a long time. The hype for the series among the two nations was equivalent to that of a World Cup. Indian innings took off with a supreme start riding on another Virender Sehwag blitz. By the time Dravid replaced him at the fall of the 2nd wicket, India were scoring at 10 runs per over in the 15th over and the stage was set for the vice-captain to take full toll of the conditions.

His first boundary was a trademark flick off his legs. Back-to-back on drives against Abdul Razzaq could make it to any highlights’ package. He swept and cut the ball late. Dravid carried the innings from where Sehwag left. The only difference was that his strokeplay had a sweeter essence to it. When India lost Ganguly and Yuvraj Singh in quick succession, Dravid made sure Pakistan don’t get into India’s lower order too soon stitching a 100-run partnership with Kaif. The boundaries dried up to an extent but Dravid maintained a decent strike rate and India’s run rate was above 7 for the most part of the innings.

With the slog overs approaching, Dravid’s strike rate accelerated towards 100 again. His last scoring shot was a slap bisecting the gap between mid-off and cover for four on an attempted yorker from Shoaib Akhtar on the middle stump at approximately 140 kph. It was a stroke that could make even the hardest hitters of the ball go weak in their knees. On 99, he got out trying to force the ball on the leg-side to steal a single. That was the only moment in the game when Dravid looked like rushing things too hard. Pakistan came agonizingly close to India’s total of 349. Inzamam-ul-Haq scored a heroic 122 from 102 balls. He won the man of the match award as a consolation prize but Dravid’s inning of mixed aggression proved pivotal in India’s win.