Facts About Dravid - Tests

Individual records

• Rahul Dravid retired as the third most capped player in Test cricket having played 164 matches, only behind Sachin Tendulkar (188 matches) and Steve Waugh (168 matches). Since then, Ricky Ponting has overtaken him.


• Dravid played 94 consecutive Tests since his debut in 1996, without missing a single match. Of this, he played 93 matches for India and one for ICC XI. He missed a Test match for the first time in 2005 at Ahmedabad against Sri Lanka due to gastroenteritis. This 94 consecutive Test match appearance streak since his debut was a world record at that time,which was later broken by Adam Gilchrist who appeared in 96 consecutive Test matches since his debut.


• Dravid retired as the second highest run getter of all time in Test cricket with an aggregate of 13,288 runs from 164 matches at an average of 52.31 behind only Tendulkar who has scored 15,470 runs from 188 matches.


• Dravid is the fastest batsman to reach 13,000 runs mark in Test cricket in terms of matches played (160 matches) and time taken (15yrs & 155 days). Though Sachin Tendulkar is the fastest to reach 13,000 runs mark in terms of innings (266 innings), as against Dravid who took 277 innings.


• Dravid is the only international cricketer to have scored more than 10,000 runs batting at no. 3 position - 10,524 runs from 219 innings at an avg. of 52.88 with 28 hundreds and 50 fifties and a highest score of 270.


• Among the batsmen who have scored more than 10,000 runs in Test cricket, Dravid has been dismissed for a duck the least number of times - 8. Steve Waugh, who has scored 10,927 runs, has been dismissed for a duck the most number of times - 22. Dravid registered a total of 8 ducks in his 286 innings long career, with an average of 35.75 innings per duck, the best by an Indian batsman.


• Dravid has faced more deliveries and spent more time in the middle while batting than any other batsman in the history of Test cricket. Throughout his Test career, Dravid has faced 31,258 deliveries - a world record. No other batsman has faced even 30,000 deliveries.


• Rahul Dravid saw 453 wickets fall while batting at the other side of the crease in a Test Career- the most by a batsman in a Test Career.


• When Dravid was at the crease, the team scored 32,039 runs. Given that the entire Indian team scored 89,668 runs, it means 35.6 percent of the total runs that India made in Tests involving Dravid were scored with him at the crease. The corresponding percentage for Tendulkar is 29.9, and 32.6 for Kallis. It is also the highest partnership runs scored by any batsman ever.


• Dravid has hit 1,654 fours in his Test career. Only Tendulkar has hit more 4s than Dravid.


• Dravid has registered 36 hundreds in his Test career. Only three cricketers have scored more hundreds than Dravid. Tendulkar (51), Kallis (43) and Ponting (41).


• Dravid is the only international cricketer to have registered a hundred in all ten Test playing nations.


• Dravid is one of the three Indian batsmen to have registered a hundred in both innings of a Test match. Dravid has achieved this feat twice - against New Zealand at Hamilton in 1999 (190, 103*) and against Pakistan at Kolkata in 2005 (110, 135). Other two Indians to achieve this feat are Vijay Hazare (against Australia) and Sunil Gavaskar (thrice; twice against West Indies and once against Pakistan).


• Dravid has hit 5 hundreds in a calendar year twice - in 2002 and 2011. While the world record is held by Mohd. Yousuf who scored 9 hundreds in year 2006.


• Dravid is the only Indian cricketer to score a hundred in 4 consecutive innings. He achieved this feat in 2002 with scores of 115, 148, 217 (all against England) at Nottingham, Leeds and The Oval respectively and 100* against West Indies at Mumbai. The world record of hundreds in 5 consecutive innings is held by Sir Everton Weekes.


• Dravid's 4 hundreds in consecutive innings were also his four hundreds in four consecutive matches. The world record is held by Sir Donald Bradman who scored hundreds in 6 consecutive matches.


• Dravid has five double hundreds registered to his name. All five of Dravid's double hundreds were bigger than the previous one - 200* vs Zimbabwe, 217 vs England, 222 vs New Zealand, 233 vs Australia, 270 vs Pakistan.


• Dravid was on crease for 740 minutes during his 270 run knock against Pakistan at Rawalpindi in 2004. This is the longest inning played by an Indian batsman in terms of time spent on the crease and the 14th longest inning overall.


• In 2011, Dravid, batting as a makeshift opener, carried bat through a completed inning during the 2nd inning of the Test match at The Oval against England. Only two other Indian openers have achieved this feat. Gavaskar against Pakistan in 1983 at Faisalabad and Sehwag against Sri Lanka in 2008 at Galle.


• Dravid is one of the 13 Indian batsmen who scored a hundred and a duck in the same Test match. Dravid achieved this unique combo in 2008 at Mohali against England.


• Dravid shares the record of registering most scores of nineties in Test cricket with Tendulkar and Steve Waugh - 10. Dravid is also the only Indian batsman to have scored a ninety on Test debut.


• Dravid has scored more than 600 runs in a series twice in his Test career - 602 runs in England in 2002 and 619 runs in Australia in 2003-04. Gavaskar (twice) and Dilip Sardesai are the only other Indian batsmen to have scored more than 600 runs in a Test series.


• Dravid's aggregate of 305 runs (233 & 72*) against Australia at Adelaide in 2003 is the 6th highest aggregate by an Indian in a single Test match. Indian record for highest aggregate in a Test match is held by Sunil Gavaskar with an aggregate of 344 runs against West Indies.


• Dravid is one of the few international cricketers who average more away than home. While Dravid's home avg. is 51.35, his away (outside India) avg. is 53.03. His overseas (outside Indian sub-continent) avg. is even better - 53.80.


• Dravid has scored 7,690 runs at an average of 53.03 away from home. Only Tendulkar (8,705 runs) has scored more runs in away tests than Dravid in Test cricket history.


• Dravid has the 4th highest aggregate in the 1st innings of Test cricket - 4,121 runs from 75 innings at an avg. of 57.23 with 15 hundreds and 15 fifties and a highest score of 222. Tendulkar, Ricky Ponting and Steve Waugh have a better aggregate than him in the 1st innings of Test cricket.


• Dravid has the 2nd highest aggregate in the 2nd innings of Test cricket - 4,984 runs from 89 innings at an avg. of 60.78 with 15 hundreds and 24 fifties and a highest score of 270. Only Tendulkar (5,432 runs) has a better aggregate that him in 2nd innings of Test cricket.


• Dravid has the 6th highest aggregate in the 3rd innings of Test cricket - 2,608 runs from 65 innings at an avg. of 42.75 with 5 hundreds and 15 fifties and a highest score of 180. Allan Border, Jacques Kallis, Kumar Sangakkara, Tendulkar and Graham Gooch have all got a better aggregate than him in 3rd innings of Test cricket.


• Dravid has the highest aggregate in the 4th innings of Test cricket - 1,575 runs from 57 innings at an avg. of 40.38 with 1 hundred and 9 fifties and a highest score of 103*.


• Dravid scored 2,571 runs at an average of 102.84 in the 21 Test matches that India won under the captaincy of Sourav Ganguly. That amounted to almost 23% of the total runs put up by the whole Indian team in those 21 matches. This is the highest percentage contribution by any batsman in Test cricket history in matches won under a single captain where the captain has won more than 20 Tests.


• Dravid has registered 99 scores of fifty or more runs in his career. Only 2 batsmen have scored more 50+ scores than Dravid. Tendulkar (116) and Ponting (102).


• Dravid registered 50+ scores in 6 consecutive innings in 1998-99 (3 each against Sri Lanka and Australia). This is an Indian record shared between Dravid and Gundappa Vishwanath.


• Dravid also registered 50+ scores in 7 consecutive matches twice (in 2006 and in 2008-09). Though the world record is held jointly by Gambhir and Sir Viv Richards with 50+ scores in 11 consecutive matches.


• Dravid has been one of the most prolific overseas batsmen in the history of Indian cricket. Among all the Indian batsmen who have scored more than 1,000 runs overseas (outside Indian sub-continent), Dravid averages the highest - 54.58.


• Dravid has won more away tests than any other Indian player - 24 (15 excluding Bangladesh and Zimbabwe). Dravid has the highest aggregate for an Indian batsman in away wins with 2,293 runs from 38 innings at an avg. of 69.48. In away wins against major Test playing nations (excluding away wins against minnows such as Bangladesh and Zimbabwe), Dravid again has the highest aggregate for an Indian batsman with 1,577 runs from 27 innings at an avg. of 65.70.


• Dravid has the highest aggregate for India in overseas victories - 1,354 runs from 22 innings at an avg. of 71.26.


• Dravid is one of the four Indian batsmen to hit two unbeaten 50+ knocks in the same Test match. Other 3 are Bapu Nadkarni, Tendulkar and VVS Laxman. Dravid achieved this feat in Nov 2000 at Delhi against Zimbabwe with the scores of 200* and 70*.


• Dravid holds the world record for taking most number of catches as a non-wicketkeeper fielder in Test Cricket. He retired with a record haul of 210 catches from 164 matches.


• Dravid is the only non-wicketkeeper fielder who has taken more than 50 catches off the bowling of two different bowlers. Dravid has taken 55 catches of Anil Kumble's bowling and 51 catches of Harbhajan Singh's bowling. Other fielders who have taken more than 50 catches off the bowling of a single bowler are Mahela Jayawardene (77 catches of Muttiah Muralitharan's bowling) and Mark Taylor (51 catches of Shane Warne's bowling).


• Dravid took 13 catches in the 2004-05 Border-Gavaskar Trophy, an Indian record. The world record for taking most catches in a single series is held by Jack Gregory of Australia who took 15 catches in 1920-21 Ashes series.

Partnership records

• Dravid has been involved in more partnerships (738) and more partnership runs (32,039) than any other batsman in Test cricket history.


• Dravid has more hundred run partnerships and more fifty run partnerships than any other batsman - 88 and 126 respectively. Again a world record.


• Dravid and Tendulkar have scored more partnership runs and have been involved in more hundred run stands than any other batting pair - 6,920 runs with 20 century stands - both are world records.


• Dravid is also the only batsman to have 10 or more century stands with four others; no one else has even managed three.


• Dravid has featured in four stands of 300 or more runs (twice with Laxman, one each with Sehwag and Gambhir) - an Indian record jointly shared between Dravid and Laxman. Only Bradman has featured in more 300+ stands than Dravid and Laxman - 5.
  
  
  • On all these four occasions, Dravid was the unbeaten batsman and it was the dismissal of the other partner that broke the partnership.


• The 410 run partnership between Sehwag and Dravid against Pakistan at Lahore in 2006 is the 13th highest partnership in Test cricket and 2nd highest partnership by an Indian pair.
  
  
  • It's also the 3rd highest partnership for the 1st wicket in Test cricket and 2nd highest partnership for the 1st wicket by an Indian pair.
  • It's the highest partnership by an Indian pair outside India.
  • It's the highest partnership between a captain and a vice-captain in Test cricket history.


• The 376 run partnership between Laxman and Dravid against Australia at Kolkata in 2001 is the 24th highest partnership in Test cricket and 3rd highest partnership by an Indian pair.
  
  
  • It's the highest partnership between 2 batsmen in Test cricket history while following on.
  • It's also the 3rd highest partnership for 5th wicket in Test cricket and the highest partnership for 5th wicket by an Indian pair.


• The 314 run partnership between Gambhir and Dravid against England at Mohali in 2008 is the 8th highest partnership by an Indian pair.
  
  
  • It's also the 13th highest partnership for 2nd wicket in Test cricket and 2nd highest partnership for the 2nd wicket by an Indian pair.


• The 303 run partnership between Dravid and Laxman against Australia at Adelaide in 2003 is the 10th highest partnership by an Indian pair. It's the 2nd highest partnership by an Indian pair in an overseas (outside Indian sub-continent) test.


• The 224 run partnership between Dravid and MS Dhoni against Sri Lanka at Ahemedabad in 2009 is the 3rd highest partnership by an Indian pair for the 6th wicket.


• The 144 run partnership between Dravid and Javagal Srinath against New Zealand at Hamilton in 1999 is the 2nd highest partnership by an Indian pair for the 8th wicket.


• The 94 run partnership between Ganguly and Dravid against England at Lord's in 1996 is the highest partnership between two Indian debutants.

Captaincy records

• Rahul Dravid was the first captain to lead India to a Test match victory against South Africa on South African soil.


• Rahul Dravid led India to a historic Test series win, against the West Indies in their home soil in 2006. Since 1971, India had never won a Test series in the West Indies. This was also their first prominent series win outside the Indian subcontinent (barring the win against Zimbabwe in 2005) since 1986.


• He became only the third captain from India to win a Test series in England. The other two captains being Kapil Dev (1986) and Ajit Wadekar (1971).