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Staggering figures on 'The Wall'
Rahul Dravid, who on Friday announced his retirement from international cricket, has achieved truly staggering numbers over a glittering 16-year career, with the most remarkable being his 13288 Test runs, the second most aggregate in the game's history.
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Nicknamed The Wall for his defence and technical proficiency, Dravid is one of the most successful Test batsmen overseas, accumulating 7690 runs at 53.03, which places him above West Indies' Brian Lara and Ricky Ponting of Australia.
With 8705 runs in 106 matches, only Sachin Tendulkar is ahead of Dravid.
Dravid has an impressive average
The 39-year-old Dravid has an impressive average of 52.31 and aggregates second only to Tendulkar who has 15470 runs in 188 Tests.
In the list of top century makers, he stands third behind Tendulkar, Ponting and Kallis with 36 tons, besides hitting 63 fifties.With 21, Dravid is just behind Tendulkar but beats Lara and Ponting for the number of centuries recorded on foreign soil.
At home, he has scored 5598 runs at an average of 51.35, with 222 being his best.Dravid, who notched up his highest score (270) against Pakistan, played some memorable knocks over the years, but the double hundred against Australia at Adelaide in 2003-4 and the 180 against the same opponents at Eden Gardens before that would rank much higher in the order.
Holds world record in the number of Test catches
Australia have been his favourite opponent as he has slammed over 2000 runs against them, though the average(38.67) is below his standard.
Against England, Dravid has scored 1950 runs at 60.93 while the West Indians saw him aggregate 1978 runs at 63.80.He has also scored over 1200 runs against South Africa, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and New Zealand.
Dravid, who has played in 164 Test matches since making his debut against England at the Lord's in 1996, is also a world record holder in the number of Test catches.
He took 210 of them, mostly in the slip cordon.While he has scaled a number of records in the five-day format, no less impressive is his achievements in One-day cricket.
In ODIs, he has compiled 10,889 runs in 344 matches for an average of 39.16.He also slammed 12 centuries and 83 half centuries, besides taking 196 catches.
Dravid's captaincy did not affect his performance with the bat
He had announced his retirement from ODI cricket in England last year after been surprisingly recalled in the team due to his stupendous performance during the Test series in which he scored three centuries.
Under his captaincy between October 2005 and September 2007, India won Test series in the West Indies as well as England but had a disastrous World Cup in 2007 when they were knocked out in the first round of the tournament. He captained India in 25 Tests and 79 ODIs.
Dravid's captaincy coincided with Greg Chappell's controversial tenure as India coach, but that did not affect his performance with the bat, as he has garnered 1736 runs at 44.51.
Renowned for his technique and a willingness to bat through difficult circumstances and for long periods, Dravid led India in 25 Tests, winning eight and losing six of them.