Former Australia captain Steve Waugh was at the forefront of Australia’s rise as a superpower in world cricket. After giving Australia their second World Cup title in 1999, Waugh was the captain responsible for adding the word ‘mighty’ almost as a prefix to describe the early Australian team. in the 2000s. Under it, Australia won 16 consecutive Test matches, from 14 October 1999 to 27 February 2001.
Waugh came to India in 2001, calling it the final finish in what remains as one of the most iconic test series between the two sides. After racing to a big win in Mumbai, Australian Waugh were on the verge of winning another test series before two of India’s biggest batsmen VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid changed course. full, to the extent that India registered from the doorstep of the case. one of their most famous experiments in history.
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That’s why Waugh can’t forget at least one of those two bats. The former Australian captain, in a video released by Cricket Australia, explained how Dravid was equally responsible for India’s rise as a strong side in the 2000s, shouting at him as a player equal to the real Sachin Tendulkar. Without confining his big suggestions for the wall, Waugh feels that Dravid is the ‘cry’ that kept the Indians clapping together.
“It was a big, flexible squeeze, there was no need to try to damage its feathers because you couldn’t do it,” Waugh said in the video. “It was the glue that held them together and the only banker they had on their side. I knew he was going to get running scratches, I knew he could take over the crease and he could rebound quality bowling that quality players can do. If he put up the gear he could play scenes as good as any, he was a world – class player and just as hard to beat as Tendulkar was. ”
Waugh’s last Test series was one of Dravid’s best – the 2003/04 Border-Gavaskar Cup, in which India’s No. 3 batsman ran 619 runs at a staggering average of 123.80 with three hundred and fifty. The double era he made at Adelaide gave India their first win on Australian soil after 22 years. The series ended with a 1-1 draw with Dravid emerging as the most advanced in India.
“His concentration and defense were incredible when he wanted to be and he also had that strong competitive edge, the big games were exciting for him, that’s when he played his best,” said Waugh. “When he got in, it was so hard. Clearly, Kolkata is the most famous (innings of Dravid), he and Laxman won all day. The Test largely turned around. That was an unattainable test match. ”
Waugh said Dravid was as important as Tendulkar, revealing how the duo were deeply involved in creating what is perhaps remembered as the best batting line in India. “He was as important to India as Sachin Tendulkar. These people were at the heart of what seemed like the best work in India, ”he said.