Rahul Dravid reveals how he scored 180 despite Australia sledging him in 2001 Kolkata Test

Rahul Dravid reveals how he scored 180 despite Australia sledging him in 2001 Kolkata Test

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Rahul Dravid has revealed his thought process during the second Test, where he scored a brilliant 180, against Australia in Kolkata in 2011 after facing sledging throughout his innings. Dravid has stated that instead of thinking about past and future, he was concentrating on one ball at a time.

India lost their first Test of the three-match series against Australia in Mumbai by ten wickets and Dravid could manage just 9 and 39 runs in the first and second innings respectively. The second Test of the series was played in Kolkata where Australia again found themselves in complete control after scoring 445 in the first innings before restricting the hosts to a paltry score of 171, forcing a follow-on. 

"In the first three days of the Test match, we (India) were sort of completely beaten. Personally as well, my form was not good. I hadn't scored runs in Bombay. I hadn't hit runs in the first innings. In fact, I was demoted to number six in the batting order. In the second innings, when I walked in, Steve Waugh said 'Rahul, number six in this innings, what is it in the next innings? Number 12?" Dravid said as quoted by News 18.

Interestingly, it was Waugh's sledge that helped Dravid focus on his performance in the second innings. The 44-year-old, who scored 25 runs in the first innings, scored a brilliant 180 when India were struggling and he found a strong support in the form of VVS Laxman who played 281-run knock. The right-hand batsman revealed that he was under pressure because it was a do-or-die match for Team India.

"It was quite funny because I had reached the depths, I felt so low. I was not in a position to think about the past or about the future. And in cricket, it is just about focusing on one ball at a time. I thought 'let me see how many one balls I can play at a time.' I was thinking one more, one more'," Dravid further added.

Dravid and Laxman’s contribution helped the Indian side to not only come back into the match but in the series also as under Sourav Ganguly’s captaincy India won the Kolkata Test by 171 runs. Dravid scored 81 in the first innings of the third Test in Chennai and with the help of the Sachin Tendulkar’s century, Indian cricket team won the series by 2-1.

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