In England series, a banner at The Oval read: "England vs. The Wall" - that pretty much summed up what the tour for the Indian team was. He was by far the best batsman, aggregating 461 runs at an average of 76.83, which accounted for 23 percent for the Indian team's runs. In the first innings, he got 388 runs at an average of 184 that accounted for India's 35 percent runs.
Dravid's three of the last four Test centuries came in a losing cause on the tour, but his three centuries were all about immense pride and dignity. Two of them came as a stand-in opener, a role that he never relished.
England always was a special place for Dravid, who made his Test debut there along with his former captain Sourav Ganguly in the summer of 1996 at the Lord's. While Ganguly went on to score memorable century on debut, Dravid, who came in to bat at No.7, fell short by five runs.
It took another six months to score his maiden Test century (148) against South Africa at Johannesburg in January 1997 and since then there has been no looking back.
Most of his big knocks either won the Tests or saved them for India. He himself listed Thursday quite a few, including that memorable 180 in a monumental partnership with Laxman (281) at the Eden Gardens that fashioned one of India's greatest Test wins, against Australia in 2001. That win proved to be the cornerstone for India's ascent in international cricket, culminating in their becoming World's No.1 team.
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