5 Times when Rahul Dravid lost his cool

Rahul Dravid, popularly known as The Wall, is known to be an epitome of grit and perseverance. He showed an immense level of patience and hardly got tangled into unwanted controversies. Quite often the bowlers tempted him to play the ambitious strokes, but Dravid kept himself way from greed.

The kind of game he possessed, he managed to wear a bowler down to virtual submission. He mostly depended on textbook stroke-play to score his runs and always resorted to calculative strokes. Despite not having the audacious strokes up his sleeves, he found ways to get the scoreboard times.

But at times, Dravid showed some signs of fragility, albeit he didn’t go overboard any of the times. The pent-up emotions showed in his actions, making many people raise their eyebrows.

In the article, let’s take a look at five times when Rahul Dravid couldn’t hold on to his emotions: –

1. Dravid’s tussle with Mitchell Johnson in 2013 IPL

Mitchell Johnson is a kind of character, who’s always at the batsman. The speedster, apart from spewing venom with the ball, doesn’t miss out on sending verbal volleys down the other end. The former Australian fast bowler once engaged in an altercation with Dravid in the 2013 edition of the Indian Premier League.

The incident panned out in the Qualifier 2 at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. In the fourth ball of the match’s third over, Dravid drove Johnson through mid-off for a boundary. The pacer then said a word or two to the Rajasthan Royals’ skipper.

Dravid got charged up and flicked Johnson for a four in the very next ball. It was then that Rahul went up to Johnson, asking ‘you want to say something?’ Dravid eventually scored 43 runs, but Mumbai won by four wickets.

2. Dravid throwing a chair in anger

Rahul Dravid isn’t someone, who would be expressing displeasure over an incident with physical actions. But there was an incident when he got angry to such an extent that he powerfully threw away a chair in anger. During an exclusive interview, Dravid’s wife Vijeta put forth the revelations.

Vijeta said that it was her husband’s former teammate Virender Sehwag, who told about the matter. The reason for Dravid venting his anger was learned to be India losing a Test match against England in home conditions.

About the poor performance, Dravid had informed his better-half. However, Vijeta only got to know about the chair-smashing incident from Sehwag. Dravid was a batsman, who had the technique to counter the venom of the Three Lions’ attack even in challenging conditions.

3. Dravid’s tussle with Shoaib Akhtar in CT 2004

Rahul Dravid once had a mini brawl with Shoaib Akhtar, the former Pakistan fast bowler. The incident took place during the 2004 Champions Trophy in England. At the Edgbaston in Birmingham, the Rawalpindi Express tried to get under Dravid’s skin.

During one of the fast bowlers’ overs in the first innings, Dravid attempted to take a couple of runs. But Akhtar seemed to have blocked his path. The incident unnerved Rahul to some extent and subsequently, he walked to Akhtar and asked him to stay out of his way.

Thereafter, Inzamam-ul-Haq had to intervene and separate the duo. In that match, Dravid top-scored for the Men in Blue with 67 runs. The knock went in vain as Pakistan won the match by three wickets with four balls to spare. Shoaib picked up a four-wicket haul in 9.5 overs.

4. Dravid expresses displeasure over Kieron Pollard 2013

Kieron Pollard, the West Indies limited-overs’ captain, once bore the brunt of Dravid. It was during a match between Mumbai Indians and Rajasthan Royals in the 2013 IPL. When the Royals’ Shane Watson came to bat, Pollard tried to disturb the concentration of the batter.

In fact, until the time the Aussie got out, the MI fielder mocked him. After Watson got out, Pollard also gave him a fiery send-off. Pollard then went to the Royals’ dugout and derided Watson again. The latter had to later walk away from there.

Dravid, the skipper of RR back then, decided to hit out at Pollard in the post-match press conference. The captain said that a bowler sending off a batsman after dismissing him is an act of cowardice. Though he didn’t take Pollard’s name directly, it was clear that Dravid had jibe at Pollard.

5. Dravid smashes his cap in IPL 2014

Chasing 190 in 14.3 overs is an arduous task even on a batting paradise like the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. However, Rohit Sharma’s Mumbai Indians made it a reality. The team needed to achieve the target in the stipulated time to make their way into the playoffs.

Corey Anderson got the Player of the Match award for his knock of 95 runs off 44 balls with the help of nine fours and six sixes. However, it was Aditya Tare’s first-ball six off James Faulkner that took MI over the finishing line.

After clearing the ropes, the young Tare pulled his shirt up and ran around the ground in jubilation. In the meantime, Dravid wasn’t a happy man by any stretch of the imagination. Seeing his team, capitulating like a pack of cards, the veteran smashed his cap on the ground in absolute disgust.