Former Australian captain Ian Chappell once said Rahul Dravid needed to be told that cricket matches were won not by hours but by runs or wickets.

The Indian batsman, regarded among the best technically, faced flak from experts because they felt he was too defensive. They said he took too long to get his runs.

But New Zealand's Daryl Tuffey and Jacob Oram, who were on the receiving end of Dravid's immaculate strokeplay last week, would find the criticism hard to fathom.

Dravid stroked 28 fours and a six in a career-best 222 in the first test at Ahmedabad, which ended in a draw on Sunday.

The 30-year-old Dravid, at his peak and slowly getting his average up to all-time-great levels, has scored 1,507 runs at an astounding 71.76 in his last 15 matches.

"If I had to make a video on how to play a test innings, Rahul Dravid would certainly feature in it," former New Zealand test wicketkeeper Ian Smith said in awe last week.

But Dravid, nicknamed "Wall", was not always so intimidating.

He has spent most of his career, since making a debut 95 at Lord's in 1996 in a match where Saurav Ganguly cracked 131 to upstage him, trying to bridge the gap between good and great.

Right from that first summer, when left-hander Ganguly hit another century at Trent Bridge in the following match, Dravid was labelled "always the bridesmaid, never the bride".

TEST PARTNERSHIP

Four years ago, he was involved in a world record one-day international stand of 318 with Ganguly against Sri Lanka in the World Cup. Dravid made a masterly 145 but Ganguly overshadowed him with a cocky 183 that included seven sixes.

Against Australia in 2001, Dravid scored 180 in India's greatest ever test partnership of 376 but it was Vangipurappu Laxman who grabbed all the plaudits with an Indian record 281.

Even when Dravid scored 148 at Headingley last year, Sachin Tendulkar trumped him with a 193 that took the master batsman past Don Bradman's 29 test centuries.

The label, despite all Dravid's achievements, had stuck.

But he decided to change the script at The Oval in the following test, hitting an exemplary 217. When he walked back to the pavilion, run out by Ashley Giles, India had amassed 508 in reply to England's 515 and the next highest score was Tendulkar's 54.

Dravid had finally grabbed the spotlight.

He added another century, for good measure, in his next test against West Indies in Bombay to become only the fourth batsman after Everton Weekes, Jack Fingleton and South African Alan Melville to score hundreds in four consecutive innings.

His statistics changed dramatically in one season -- centuries moved from nine to 14, average from the late 40s to mid-50s -- and the Indian team changed from a one-man show featuring Tendulkar to a double act where Dravid matched him shot for shot.

CLASS ACT

"There should not have been any doubt after all the runs he has made in the 70 matches," captain Ganguly said last week, perhaps taking a shot at Dravid's early detractors.

"He is a fantastic player, his records show that. Seventy test matches and 15 hundreds, it's got to be a class act."

There was a time, only last year, when Dravid's place in India's one-day team was not secure.

Youngsters Yuvraj Singh, Mohammad Kaif and Dinesh Mongia had made their mark with match-winning innings and a lineup, which already boasted Tendulkar, Ganguly and the explosive Virender Sehwag could not afford another batsman.

Dravid ended the crisis by agreeing to keep wicket and made up for his occasional juggling behind the stumps by reinventing himself in front of them as a gung-ho one-day batsman capable of aggressive knocks down the order.

The gamble paid off and India, who had not won a one-day tournament for four years, launched a victory run that culminated with their final appearance at the 2003 World Cup.

Dravid has shown in the latest test that his newfound run-hunger is here to stay. Bowlers around the world beware, this "Wall" now hits back.