This is written as a tribute to Dravid and not considering the innings against the Lankans.
What can you say about this man ? He's got everything that takes to be a top cricketer and definitely that's where he belongs. He personifies dedication, commitment on the field.
It is very sad that some of the highly-qualified ( in cricket) had labelled him a Test player.Making some absolutely nonsensical comments about his game, they didn't do Dravid's morale any good. What more, he was dropped from the one day team. Comments about his scoring rate, his inability to find the gaps, and inability to increase the run rate were questioned.
Dravid is the first person to admit his mistakes, also he is the first person to start working on them. He discussed with other players in the team about his batting in the on-day version of the game. Players of calibre like Azhar, Sachin advised him to play his natural game and the runs would follow. Also, he had discussed the same topics with his coach Tarapore.He was determined to be in the one day side once again and prove all his critics wrong. He was waiting for one chance and he knew he'd grab it with both hands. Well, he got the oppurtunity against the Kiwis and what a wonderful innings it turned out to be. He had already torn apart the Kiwi bowling attack in the Test series. He just dollied with their bowling and scored a magnificient 123 no. He scored at a rate which not many would have expected him to and he batted right till the end and set up a huge total for India.
His excellent form with the bat continued as he picked the Pak bowling attack for couple of half-centuries. The attention now is on the World Cup now and everyone in India is looking forward to the Indian team winning it. Dravid, just to reassert his status as a player, who can be counted on adverse situations smacked a century against the Lankans. His century against the Lankans at a crunch time just proved what a magnificient player he is.
India took the field without the genius of Sachin Tendulkar. It was important for India, as a team to prove that they could win without the services of Sachin. The batting heavily upon the likes of Ganguly, Dravid, Azhar and Jadeja. With Jadeja departing early in the innings, Lankans were jubilant with the fall of an early wicket. Dravid walked in with the situation none too, unfamiliar. He had decided to play his natural game.He was there picking up the ones and twos, chipping in with the occassional boundary. To surprise many of those who had labelled Dravid as a Test player, he was scoring at a rate faster than Ganguly. What more, he was all at ease against the Lankan attack. Dravid and Ganguly put on a wonderful partnership to get India to a huge total. Indian bowlers, of late haven't had the problem of bowling out a side. They picked up early wickets and the Lankans were in trouble. With wickets falling at regular intervals, Ganguly chanced his arm and picked up 4 crucial wickets.
India won the match handsomely.
This match will be one of those dedicated to players of the calibre of Dravid, who time and again,have proved that Class will tell. Players of this stature can handle any form of the game. They cannot be left out for long and they come back very strongly to prove themselves.