Although Rahul Dravid used to bat at number-3 for India, but on many occasions he has also handled the responsibility of opening and has shown a great game.
Image Credit source: AFP File pic
Rahul Dravid is currently the head coach of the Indian team. Dravid is counted among the greatest batsmen in the world. When this player used to play, he was called the wall of the Indian team. This batsman rained runs with his bat and made records. Although Rahul used to bat at number-3 in Tests, but on some occasions he has also opened. While opening with Virender Sehwag in a Test match against Pakistan, he did such a thing which was not easy. This pair came close to breaking the 50-year-old world record in 2006 on this day i.e. 16 January.
Sehwag and Dravid raised hopes against Pakistan at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore that the 413-run partnership for the first wicket by India’s Pankaj Roy and Vinoo Mankand in 1956 would be broken. This could not happen but still the runs added by these two for the first wicket were enough to enter the record list.
did wonders on the fourth day
Pakistan had batted first in this match. Pakistan declared their innings for 679 runs losing seven wickets on the flat pitch of Gaddafi Stadium. Dravid was playing as an opener in this match. He started the innings with Sehwag and then troubled the Pakistani bowlers fiercely. While Sehwag was scoring fast, Dravid was supporting Sehwag by batting with restraint. By the end of the day’s play on the fourth day i.e. January 16, the pair had crossed the 400-run mark. With this, this pair became the opening pair to have the second best partnership in an innings of a Test match.
In this case, Rahul and Sehwag left behind the New Zealand pair of Glenn Turner and Terry Jarvis, who added 387 runs for the first wicket against the West Indies in April 1972. That is, the pair of Sehwag-Dravid destroyed the 34-year-old record. Also, this pair became the second pair to cross the 400 mark in an innings while opening. India ended the fourth day with 403 runs in their first innings without any loss.
World record missed by three runs
Everyone expected that the pair of Dravid and Sehwag would break the record of Pankaj and Vinoo but it could not happen. On the last day of the match i.e. on the fifth day on January 17, when the score was 410 runs, Sehwag was caught by Naved ul Hasan Rana to wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal. Sehwag scored 254 runs for which he faced 247 balls. In this innings he hit 47 fours and one six. Only 14 balls could be bowled on the last day as play was not possible due to fog and then the match ended in a draw. Dravid managed to score an unbeaten 128 off 233 balls with the help of 19 fours.
Two years later, the opening pair of South Africa broke the record of Vinoo and Pankaj. South Africa’s opening pair of Neil McKenzie and Graeme Smith surpassed Vinu and Pankaj’s record against Bangladesh in Chittagong. Both of them scored 415 runs for the first wicket. The record of scoring the most runs for the first wicket in an innings of Test is in the name of this pair. The pair of Vinoo and Pankaj is second and the pair of Rahul-Sehwag is now at number three.