Latest news with #RahulDravid
News18
9 hours ago
- Sport
- News18
Rohit Sharma To Anil Kumble: 9 Indians To Score Test Century At The Oval
1/9 2/9 In the second innings of the 1979 India-England Test played at The Oval, Sunil Gavaskar scored 221 runs from 443 balls as the opening batter in the second innings. (Picture Credit: X/@ICC) 3/9 Rahul Dravid is the only Indian batter to score two Test centuries at The Oval. In 2002, he scored 217 runs from 629 balls, and in 2011, he remained unbeaten on 146 runs from 378 balls against England. (Picture Credit: AFP) Anil Kumble celebrates after completing his maiden Test century for India. In the first innings of the India-England Test played at The Oval in August 2007, Kumble remained unbeaten on 110 runs. (Picture Credit: AFP) KL Rahul scored 149 runs from 224 balls for Virat Kohli-led Team India in the second innings of the Oval Test played against England in 2018. (Picture Credit: AFP) Rishabh Pant scored 114 runs from 146 balls for India in the 2nd innings of the Oval Test played in August 2018 against England. (Picture Credit: AFP) Rohit Sharma scored 127 runs from 256 balls for India in the second innings of the Oval Test played against England in September 2021. (Picture Credit: AFP)
Hindustan Times
3 days ago
- Sport
- Hindustan Times
Shubman Gill, KL Rahul may make India forget Dravid, Laxman but the self destruction shouldn't be forgiven
Every time India are in a pitched batting battle to salvage a near lost cause, the mind invariably drifts to Eden Gardens, the theatre of dreams, where VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid orchestrated one of Test cricket's most celebrated fightbacks. Having swapped places in the batting order from the first innings, the stylist from Hyderabad and the technician from Bengaluru put on 376 for the fifth wicket, a partnership that overturned a 274-run deficit and set the stage for a remarkable 171-run defeat of Steve Waugh's all-conquering Australia in 2001. Can KL Rahul-Shubman Gill battle to revive Dravid-Laxman legacy? On Sunday, another technician from Bengaluru, Dravid's first-namesake, and a stylist from Punjab will be tasked with steering the Indian ship to safe shores on the final day of the fourth Test against England, at Old Trafford. KL Rahul and Shubman Gill have already put on 174 for the third wicket, but they are a long way away from getting the job done. Despite their burgeoning partnership, which is also India's score in the second innings following the loss of the first two wickets without a run on the board, India need 137 more just to stave off an innings defeat. To say that a protracted dogfight for survival and a stern examination of their defensive skills and character lies in wait will be an understatement. Much of India's predicament is of their own making. Hedging their bets and placing their eggs in the all-rounders basket, India forsook a grand opportunity to unleash Kuldeep Yadav's left-arm wrist-spin on England, who don't necessarily play that variety of bowling with any assurance. Instead, they plumped for Shardul Thakur, whose bowling doesn't seem to infuse any confidence in his captain. They also opted to blood Anshul Kamboj, almost fresh off the plane, when turning again to Prasidh Krishna would have been more prudent – perhaps, yes, we are talking with the benefit of hindsight. If India are so far behind after the two first innings, it's not hard to see where the blame lies. Old Trafford awaits a new Eden That's in the past, though. The past is often used as a learning tool; there's no point dwelling on it right now, with a Test to save, a series defeat to ward off. The focus must be on the immediate task – to bat through 90 overs on a tricky but not yet spiteful surface so that the series is alive going into the final Test next week. For that objective to be guaranteed, Rahul and Gill must bat together for as long as they already have --- a little over four and a half hours. They will be mindful that Rishabh Pant defied all norms to brave a broken foot in the first innings, and to expect him to pull off an encore will be unrealistic. They will be aware that despite the depth in their batting, with Washington Sundar slotting in at No. 8, no two other batters are as equipped as they are at batting time, at stonewalling the opposition, at striking the right balance between occupation of the crease and the constant uptick of the scoreboard. Laxman and Dravid didn't have all these things to worry about. India were so far behind the game after day three in Kolkata that anything other than a spanking defeat was out of the question until their day-four heroics, when they played through the entire day while adding 335 runs and putting their side 315 ahead. By the start of the final day, the hunted had emphatically turned the hunted. There is no scope for that at Old Trafford. The best India can hope for is to escape unscathed, still only 1-2 down while travelling back to the English capital for The Oval showdown. Anything beyond that will not even be in the realms of their mind space. The Pant situation is just one of several things Rahul and Gill need to take into consideration. True, England's bowlers looked tired, but a night's rest, the prospect of a winning series lead, the second new ball which is 17 overs away and the sight of Ben Stokes at the bowling crease are guaranteed to lift them. After his heroics in the two first innings – a five-fer on days one and two, a 14th hundred that spanned days three and four – the England skipper didn't bowl on Saturday. In all probability, that will change, come Sunday. The talismanic Stokes makes things happen; no English bowler, not even Jofra Archer, has looked so consistently threatening. For India to neutralise his perennial threat, Rahul and Gill must kick on from 87 and 78 respectively. D'you think 281 and 180? Or the other way round?
France 24
3 days ago
- Sport
- France 24
Root has no interest in Tendulkar run-record hype
Root leapfrogged three greats of the game during his magnificent 150 in the fourth Test against India at Old Trafford on Friday, overtaking Rahul Dravid and Jacques Kallis before going past former Australia captain Ricky Ponting. Now only Tendulkar, with a mammoth 15,921 Test runs, is ahead of Root, although Ponting is among those who believe the 34-year-old former England captain has time on his side to close the 2,512-run gap to the India great. But Root, who has compiled 21 hundreds since turning 30, is wary of the hype and wants attention turned to the fact England are pressing for a series-clinching win in Manchester at 2-1 up in the five-Test contest "It is easy to get caught up in this stuff but at the end of the day, you're playing against India in one of the biggest series there is," Root told Sky Sports. "It's not about you, it's about winning the game and getting your team in a position where you can follow through on that." Nevertheless, he added: "When you look at the names there on that list, they are all people that, as a kid, growing up, that's who I would try and be in the garden, on the street, on the driveway, at my local club. "Even just to be mentioned in the (same) sentence as these guys is a bit of a pinch-yourself moment." Root said a period of reflection during Covid, when he was still England captain, prompted changes to his game that have helped the Yorkshireman amass 5,586 runs at a high average of 56.42 since the start of 2021. "I actually went away during that period and asked can I get some footage off Sky and just look at modes of dismissal (to see) if there were any trends," he explained. "One thing that I've done within that period is actually try and look at the game slightly differently. "At the start of my career, a lot of it was based on my technique. Whereas in this second phase of things, it's been more about managing risk and thinking how can I eliminate as many modes of dismissal as possible with the highest output? © 2025 AFP
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Root has no interest in Tendulkar run-record hype
Joe Root has insisted helping England win games rather than surpassing Sachin Tendulkar as Test cricket's all-time leading run-scorer remains his primary motivation after moving into second place in the standings. Root leapfrogged three greats of the game during his magnificent 150 in the fourth Test against India at Old Trafford on Friday, overtaking Rahul Dravid and Jacques Kallis before going past former Australia captain Ricky Ponting. Now only Tendulkar, with a mammoth 15,921 Test runs, is ahead of Root, although Ponting is among those who believe the 34-year-old former England captain has time on his side to close the 2,512-run gap to the India great. But Root, who has compiled 21 hundreds since turning 30, is wary of the hype and wants attention turned to the fact England are pressing for a series-clinching win in Manchester at 2-1 up in the five-Test contest "It is easy to get caught up in this stuff but at the end of the day, you're playing against India in one of the biggest series there is," Root told Sky Sports. "It's not about you, it's about winning the game and getting your team in a position where you can follow through on that." Nevertheless, he added: "When you look at the names there on that list, they are all people that, as a kid, growing up, that's who I would try and be in the garden, on the street, on the driveway, at my local club. "Even just to be mentioned in the (same) sentence as these guys is a bit of a pinch-yourself moment." Root said a period of reflection during Covid, when he was still England captain, prompted changes to his game that have helped the Yorkshireman amass 5,586 runs at a high average of 56.42 since the start of 2021. "I actually went away during that period and asked can I get some footage off Sky and just look at modes of dismissal (to see) if there were any trends," he explained. "One thing that I've done within that period is actually try and look at the game slightly differently. "At the start of my career, a lot of it was based on my technique. Whereas in this second phase of things, it's been more about managing risk and thinking how can I eliminate as many modes of dismissal as possible with the highest output? "It's very easy to get caught up, get too emotional, either get too hard on yourself or feel too sorry for yourself." jdg/bsp
The Independent
3 days ago
- Sport
- The Independent
Joe Root not focused on record chase after latest run landmark
Joe Root insisted reeling in Sachin Tendulkar is not a top priority after the former England captain moved up to second on the list of all-time Test run-scorers. Root overtook three greats of the game in one fell swoop with a magnificent 150 against India in the fourth Rothesay Test on Friday, leapfrogging Ricky Ponting, Jacques Kallis and Rahul Dravid. Only Tendulkar, with a mountainous 15,921 runs, is ahead of Root, who has closed to within 2,512 with Ponting among those insisting the Little Master might not be out of reach for the Yorkshireman. While Root, who has amassed 21 centuries since turning 30 four years ago, is aware tongues will be wagging about whether he can catch Tendulkar, he is adamant it is not the be-all and end-all for him. 'I can't avoid it – they're everywhere,' Root told Sky Sports. 'It is easy to get caught up in this stuff but at the end of the day, you're playing against India in one of the biggest series there is. 'It's not about you, it's about winning the game and getting your team in a position where you can follow through on that. You're not doing your job if you're concentrating on yourself. 'When you look at the names there on that list, they are all people that, as a kid, growing up, that's who I would try and be in the garden, on the street, on the driveway, at my local club. 'Even just to be mentioned in the (same) sentence as these guys is a bit of a pinch-yourself moment.' Root's form since the start of 2021 has been breathtaking, amassing 5,586 runs at an average of 56.42, and the 34-year-old admitted some introspection during Covid was a major reason behind his uptick. 'I actually went away during that period and asked can I get some footage off Sky and just look at modes of dismissal (to see) if there were any trends,' added Root, who on Friday was stumped for only the second time in his 286 Test innings. 'One thing that I've done within that period is actually try and look at the game slightly differently. 'At the start of my career, a lot of it was based on my technique. Whereas in this second phase of things, it's been more about managing risk and thinking how can I eliminate as many modes of dismissal as possible with the highest output? 'It's very easy to get caught up, get too emotional, either get too hard on yourself or feel too sorry for yourself. You've got to see it for what it is, be very honest about it, and then just try and put that into practice.'
