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Up front Down Under

All your messages will be sent to Rahul Dravid in Australia

Nandakumar: n_menon@hotmail.com: All the best Dravid. I have asked God to take out five years of my life to get a clean sweep win in Australia. Hope you guys can kick ass. All the best again

Raghavender: raghav@asu.edu: Dravid. This is Raghavender. I am doing my masters in Computer science in Arizona State University. big fan of cricket. I am really looking forward for this tour and especially your batting since you have an enviable record over seas. I would like to see you score couple of big hundreds. If one of that is a double hundred I would be most happy. Win the series and avenge the 1991-92 0-4 defeat. I wish all the best for you and other Indian batsmen. Since I have been watching cricket from my childhood days my knowledge towards the game compells me to give this suggestion. Dont go into the field for a test match against Australia with out 5 regular bowlers. I know it is hard on the batsmen but we donot have quality all rounders. anyway all the best for the test series and future triangular series.

Sujata: ariesujata@hotmail.com: Hi Rahul, I admire your batting, your tenacity, your personality (what comes across on the field) and especially your positive thinking which seems to be growing by the day. We would love to see the team win the first test and so would you of course. I'd like to ask you to visualise that win as much as you can. All the best and cheers.

Rathnakar: rrayker@rediffmail.com: Hi Rahul! It is great to watch you being cool, when the opposition tries to work you up. Let that be your mark. Frustrations work them out instead, when their ploys don't work with people like you. Wishing you all the best! Rathnakar.

Dipu Chetri: 216317@hsholland.nl: Hi R.Dravid, How are ya? I am BIG FAN of yours and I hope you will be playing for India for a long time to come. Over here(in the Netherlands) there isn't much coverage of cricket. Only on Sony TV It is possible to watch some cricket ones In a while. And whenever I get the oppurtuninty to watch a match of India I wait with exictement when the first wicket will fall for India because that's when you came In. And I just hope that you play a BIG knock for India because you always do that! I was in England during The world Cup. I wanted tickets for the match against South Africa but luckily for me there weren't any instead I got tickets for Kenya. I say luckily because for the first time I was watching a cricket match live whereI witnessed a century from my great cricketer R. Dravid.(and off course Tendulkar)! That was really one of the best crickettimes in my life. It's just a pity India didn't get to the final in the World Cup they had the batting potenial but not the bowling.
Well Dravid I just hope You and all the other players won't let there millions of INDIAN fans down ALL OVER THE WORLD. I hope you and the team will bring us vitory (outside India)that we are waiting for for a long time! P.S. Could you please tell me which innings you played for India was your best till now! Thanks And good luck!!!!

Ganesh Balakrishnan: ganb@yahoo.com: Hi Dravid, I really like your batting. Forget what all these media and other guys tell about the current series,I know just one thing, IF U BAT WELL, INDIA CAN WIN. YOU CAN SINGLEHANDEDLY CHANGE INDIA's fortunes, YOU are capable of that and much more. May God help you in taking INDIA to glory. Best of luck, Regards, Ganesh

Hari Reddy: HReddy@Iname.com: Hi fellow josephite, Keep up the good work. Hari

Rohan: rohanbhardwaj@hotmail.com: Dear Jammy, I have been living in Canada for the last 3 years and am a huge follower of Indian cricket which unfortunately dont get to see a lot. However I always follow up with rediff or cricinfo and I have got a dying passion for an Indian win. Sachin is God and you are the Angel of the team, thanks a lot for all the great knocks you have played so far, however the innings against Donald and co. is my personal favourite and the huge six u hit off him was a peach.Hope u guys have a successful tour down under, wishing u the best of luck, JAI MATA DI

Arvind Chauhan: achauhan@usa.net: Hi Rahul It's a honour to write to you and I have only one thing to say to is that do not get carried away by your success in the game just put your head down stick to the wicket make it your living room and score tons of runs because you are the backbone of Indian batting. Sachin and Saurav are flashy in thier batting but you know that flashes may or may not work in crunch situations. Indian batting needs a person who is not disturbed by what is going on at the other end and keeps cool and just stick to wicket and keep scoring not just good 80's, 90's but 180's, 190's and 200's; And I strongly believe that you are "the person" for this. Make the arrogant and foul mouthed Aussies sweat like hell and show them what and how and a cool headed person can reply of their famous bad manners on the field. Regards Arvind Chauhan

pradeep: killa001@bama.ua.edu: Mr.Dravid, best of luck for ur tour down under.u are one of the very few dedicated and commited players in the indian team.india is lucky to have a player of your caliber.in a country where there are a million mythological heroes,you are one of the few real life heroes.god help you and the indian team. pradeep

Devayani: devayanijb@hotmail.com: Dear Rahul Dravid, I am a great fan of yours. I have numerous posters of you all over in my room. I love your style of batting a lot. You are a fantastic fielder as well. I wish you good luck for future matches. You are one of the most selfless and invaluable players India has and I am sure that with you around, we will be able to celebrate many a more victories for India in future. Once again I wish you all the best. I am very much eagerly waiting for your reply. Your greatest fan, Devayani.

Harender: hmarpu@hotmail.com: Good luck!! Hope you score tons of runs for India.

Amit: drnba@bom3.vsnl.net.in: Hi, I'm Amit from Mumbai and I'm 16. I have a message for Dravid.. Dear Rahul, I don't want you to get your morale down but I have found that you have trapped yourself LBW by shuffling across to the off-stump to pace bowlers many times.. On the fast-paced Australian wickets I just humbly want to suggest that u shouldnt do that too often because with the pace that Mcgrath,Kasprowicz, and maybe Lee will bowl at you.. you wont have enough time to flick the ball on the leg side and it may crash into your front pad and u may be LBW and practice the hook/pull shot please
Dear Sachin.. please practice the short rising delivery outside off stump a lot lot lot lot lot.. and PLEASE dont lose your cool if they tie you down.
Dear Kumble.. please use your wrong one.. and flipper.. much much much more often
Dear Srinath.. Bowl Around to wicket to Gilchrist... PLEASE
Dear MSK... please practice batting .. we need a good wicket-keeper batsman and you will be that if u practice batting
To the team... all us indians wish u all the best of luck.. BAROOD!!!!!! good luck!! love, amit

Harry Singh: hsingh1008@yahoo.com: Dravid, I have been living in USA for past seven years but i still follow cricket in India. I ve seen you develop as an excellent cricketer and hope that one day you will lead this Indian side. keep up the good work and congrats on your award from castrol. Harry

Manoj Mathew: mathew_manoj@hotmail.com: Hi there, My dad and me have this fierce rivalry involving Sachin and you, with my dad vouching for you!! But we are so far away now and I don't get to see any cricket games in the US, but I still follow it, however I can. My dad and I have this mock victory celebration when our chosen player does well, but lately I have come to respect you for what you are , and like you said Sachin is Sachin, but believe me man, you're right up there too. I respect my dad, and now even moreso cos he's got a great cricketing idol. Keep up the good work, Sincerely, Manoj Mathew

Pradip Mukhopadhyay: pradip.mukhopadhyay@ps.ge.com: I wish you the very best in your efforts down under. Please do not rush your innings. You are God's best gift to Indian cricket. I am very proud of your accomplishments. Have fun. Regards, Pradip NewYork, USA

Niki Pandey: nutcase_80@hotmail.com: Hi Rahul... Just wanted you to know that you've got the support of a huge population in the coming matches.Play your best.And congrats for your wins and awards.Hoping to congratulate you personally someday. With the best wishes and prayers for the whole team.... Niki

Senthil Kumar: sentilrv@singnet.com.sg: Hi Rahul, It's a terrific feeling to write to you. I have been following you, right from the time you made your debut for Karnataka. Well, i have some expectations on you in this tour. I hope you will be able to fulfill it, given your talents. First test is at Adelaide. It's a batting wicket. And, neither the bounce, nor the pace off the wicket is going to send shivers down the back. I expect India to draw this test. Our bowling is not penetrative enough to force a win here. I expect you to score a good, classy hundred. And i'm sure you won't be the lone centurian at the Oval. Coming to MCG, If India has to save this test match, you have to play out atleast 4 sessions in one innings out of the 2 (in MCG, India will be batting twice). And when you play out 4 sessions, you can get a 100. You might be the lone centurian for India at this ground. Just might be, because I know that Sachin, Sourav and Laxman are also capable of scoring hundreds on this ground. How long you stay at the wicket, will be a crucial factor to the result of this test match. If you bat, something like, just 2 hrs in total in this test match, I can't see India saving this test match. Glenn will definetely trouble all the Indian batsmen. He's class, no doubt abt it. I hope you guys can overcome him and save this test match. I won't be too disappointed even if we loose this test match. Australian team is a very professional outfit and moreover they are on a roll now. I will be very pleased if we could draw this test at MCG.
If we go to Sydney, with the series 0-0, then we are in with a very good chance to win the series. SCG is a spinners delight. Again, not a pacy or bouncy track. I guess many Indian batsmen will enjoy batting on this wicket. And you too would enjoy. If Anil and Harbhajan can produce the goods, with Srinath providing incisive breaks early on, we can win this test match. Another 100 from you would be delightful. Am i asking you for too much ?? Well, capable men are asked for more than lesser mortals, right ??
Summary of My expectations : 1. 2 Hundreds, one of those shud be a very high 100, probably even a doubble.
2. Aggregate : 400 runs.
3. Occupation of the crease :
11 sessions.
You're the best hooker / puller and cutter in the Indian team. I'm a great admirer of Sachin, but that does't stop me from telling you this. You will enjoy this Australian tour coz you are so accomplished on playing square of the wicket. Make full use of the short square boundries down there. Be cool (you are quite nervous sometimes ), things will happen to you. You have an immense skill. I have't seen many Test Batsmen as assured as you.
My view abt your technique :
Rahul, I have always felt this, but i was not knowing how to communicate this to you. Well, this is a golden chance for me. What i'm going to say might have been told to you ealier by somebody, but, incase no-one has told you, it might be useful to you.
Rahul, When you drive the ball on the off-side in the front-foot, you tend to lean too much and play the ball well in front of you. If you could just wait a fraction, and play the drive a tad late, you will be able to pack more power on the drive. I hope you wud have noticed this, on most of the occasion you got out caught behind, you have attempted this shot.
I feel that because of this small technical problem, you are't scoring enouf runs in region between mid-off and cover. I may have gone too far in saying this. I'm just a ordinary cricket fan and you are playing for the country. But i very honestly thought it might help you, and that's why i told you. *Smiles* Please don't be offended.
You have got a wonderful career ahead. I have't seen a more solid No.3 batsman, than you in the last 10 years or so. Well, I got a message for Sri as well. When he's a little tired, his concentration level dips a bit and he begins to bowl shorter than usual. When he bowls short, he stops taking wickets. Ask him to re-capture, in his mind, his spell of 6 for 21, everytime he runs into bowl. He consistently pitched the ball up in that innings. Mannnnnn, he is deadly dangerous when he does that. One shorter ball (like the ones he bowled to Jayasuriya at the bombay test) now and then will force the batsmen not to come onto the front-foot in a pre-meditated manner. His first spell is going to be very, very important this summer as both Slats and Blewwy are in excellent nick. If we allow the openers to put up a 100 partnership, we cannot stop the Aussies from scoring 400 + runs. And when they have such runs in their kitty, they will be at the throat of our batsmen, all the time.
I WISH YOU AND THE INDIAN TEAM, THE VERY BEST ! I can understand how tough it's to play Australia in Australia. Enjoy your cricket ! Cheers, Senthil.

Anujay: anujay.vootla@hok.com: Dravid you are a paragon of excellence. I must confess that even though Sachin is my favourite batsman, your batting, your style your perfection, your mental focus and body language shatters my conscience to be so prejudiced in my choice to be a Sachin's fan alone. As I see more and more of your success, I feel elated that you are not only up there with Sachin but in some ways better. While Sachin ruthlessly murders the bowlers like Parushurama, you do it elegently like Sri Krishna, ofcourse there is our Ganguly who dances like Nataraja to lofty goals(runs). I am glad to note that you love to read. If I may suggest check out books by Gregory Bateson on "Systems theory". The point being "relationships" for anything to work harmoniously it is the relationships. Nothing is seperate all by itself more so in a team game. Not even a great batsman. I see a great potential in you blokes to be aware of that relationship/partnarship potential. Exploit it and make us Indians proud.
I wish you and all the Indian team a grand success.Score a triple hundred and go for a 500 run partneship. Anuj

Ravi: ravikarri@yahoo.com: Hi Rahul, Good Luck on the tour down under and for that matter in your career. In the recent Rediff Interview you were very modest in saying that you were expecting a test call two years before joining the team. I remember the Junior cricket reports in The Hindu and often used to read about your exploits. Your consistency was high enough to indicate you would join the Indian team someday. I knew atleast 8-9 years that you would make it !! Good to hear you are joining Kent next year. I am now in London and look forward to meeting you (you agreeing obviously ). Dont worry I wont get many people to mob you. Keep up the good work and do the country proud. Cheers Ravi

Krishna: kks789@yahoo.com: Rahul, Keep up the Good work, Good luck for the Australian Series KK

sundaresan: asunder@omantel.net.om: Dear Dravid When everyone is focussing on Tendulker, you and ganguly formed the most formidable middle order line up in both forms of cricket. I wish you all the best and I am sure you will come out as the best batsman of this tough tour. Our wishes are with you, do well, make country and fans like us proud.

jagannath mohanty: diptiprakashp@hotmail.com: Hi Rahul, It has been a great pleasure watching you for last 3 years. I have some suggestions for you. Of late you are playing some cross batted strokes which is not really your strong point. You are getting the ball in air somewhere around short midwicket which i sdangerous. You should try to hook more often to counteract the bounce by Mcgrath, that should be the positive spirit instead of dropping the ball dead. I wish you all the best for aussie series. Just a historic match winning knock something like steve waugh's 206 in WI 5 seasons back.

Rahul Pahuja: rpahuja@students.wisc.edu: Hi Rahul, I just wanted to tell you that I saw you bat about 4yrs back in Sharjah, when you toured with India A, and pretty much scored a 50 in every match and helped India win the final. When I saw you then, I knew that pretty soon, you will be batting for India at No. 3 !!! Its great to see you make a big come back after getting dropped from the one day side, and put such big nos. in your critic's faces..especially the two 300+ partnerships with Sachin and Saurav. People like you give me confidence in India's cricket team, bcoz you r capable of single-handedly changing India's fortune in both forms of the game.
I just wanted to wish you all the best for the Australian tour, and hope you continue where you left off from India.
Take care..and hope you score atleast one century in Australia. Rahul Pahuja

Visak Krishnamoorthy: visakgan@hotmail.com: Hi Rahul, Iam a great fan of you. I personally wish you to make lot of runs particularly a double hundred and make india win the test series. GOOD LUCK

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