Can Dravid stamp his authority more often?

Rahul Dravid's knock of 80 at almost run-a-ball against Australia at Bangalore suggests that a keen desire to make runs may have finally outweighed his obsession over technique. Dravid resisted the temptation to 'play himself in' which in his parlance means blocking deliveries, even gift balls, down the wicket for an inordinately long period. Stroking the ball from the outset, and moreover stroking in the gaps, not straight to fielders as he habitually does, Dravid rotated the strike with poise, upsetting the bowlers with a steady supply of singles.

Unlike his more illustrious team mates who were trying to smash the cover off every ball, Dravid scampered across the wickets with alacrity; only 18 of his 80 runs came from boundaries. Dravid's presence also afforded his partners Virender Shewag and Vijay Dahiya the freedom of going for their shots, giving full rein to their youthful exuberance. He gave them a fair share of the strike and didn't seek to outflank them in the shotmaking department, though he was quite capable on occasion of doing so.

There is a general gripe that Dravid hasn't won matches for India, at least not often enough. Of course it isn't true because he averages 43.78 in matches won, about six points higher than his career average of 37.43. The charge is then modified to suggest that he hasn't won matches single handedly off his own bat. Certainly he does suffer in comparison with Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly who can strike the ball clean as a whistle and change the course of a game in the twinkling of an eye.

But again in a team game it does seem odious to demand of a guy to outshine his colleagues. If Dravid's best knocks have been in collaboration with someone else and not solo efforts, at least it suggests he's a team man and works well in association with others. Indeed it's easy to see why Dravid's contributions often go unacknowledged. On four occasions he's scored a century in an Indian win: 153 v New Zealand at Hyderabad, 145 v Sri Lanka at Taunton, 116 v Sri Lanka at Nagpur and an unbeaten 104 against Kenya at Bristol. Incredibly none of those centuries was the innings top score; on each occasion he was overshadowed by either Tendulkar or Ganguly who scored more.

However there are times when wickets fall quickly around him and he cannot afford the luxury of playing the foil to someone else. The consensus is that Dravid has not shown the ability to lead from the front in such situations, and more importantly, lead India to victory.

Let's cast a quick glance at Dravid's contribution in Indian ODI victories. India have won 59 of the 140 ODIs he has played and Dravid has top scored in 8 of these victories including Bangalore. Against Pakistan in the Sahara Cup in Toronto in 1996, his 46 in unfavourable batting conditions was topscore on either side; India winning by 55 runs. In 1998/99, he made 51 against New Zealand at Auckland as India chased down a target of 208. Then in the 1999 World Cup he made 53 in a cutthroat clash against England and 61 in the Super Six tie against Pakistan. After the World Cup, India sojourned to Toronto for a three match series against the West Indies for the DMC Cup in Toronto. Dravid cracked 77 in the third and deciding game which India eventually won by 88 runs. In last year's ICC KnockOut in Nairobi, Dravid stroked an unbeaten 68 in the successful runchase against Kenya. Finally in the Coca-Cola Champions Trophy that followed in Sharjah, he made a diligent 85 as opener (no other batsman reaching 35) to help India win a close game by just 13 runs.

So Dravid has not exactly shied away from taking top billing, only it tends to be overlooked since he does not favour the dominating slam-bang kind of innings which wins instant recognition. If there is a flaw in Dravid's armour, it's his pronounced discomfort in standing up to the pressures of a runchase. The impression about Dravid is that he is more comfortable batting first and the figures certainly back up that assessment. His average in all ODIs when India has batted first is a respectable 44.87 including 6 100s and 20 50s. On the contrary batting second he averages a poor 29.36 with 1 100 and 10 50s.

Narrowing the focus exclusively on victories, Dravid averages a whopping 50.55 in games where India has batted first and won. While in games India have chased successfully, Dravid averages only 32.88, considerably worse than his career average. Six of his eight top scores in Indian victories have come batting first. All his four centuries in Indian victories have come batting first. Until Dravid can play the sort of innings he did in Bangalore under the pressure of a runchase, the jury will continue to be in session.