PlayBlox! Special: The Greats

PlayBlox! pays tribute to two of the Greatest Gentlemen.

New Delhi: It was an evening to cherish. Those gathered at the Feroz Shah Kotla stadium must have experienced ‘lump in throat’ moment when Sachin Tendulkar patted Rahul Dravid on the back congratulating him on a glorious cricketing career.

Sunday wasn’t an encounter between two top sides of the Champions League T20 tournament only. It was also the last time that two of India’s greatest ambassadors of the game were seen together albeit on the opposing sides on a cricketing field.

Dravid has said goodbye to competitive cricket altogether while Tendulkar continues to represent India in Tests. Cricket fans will surely feel a void next time when they are watching an IPL match involving either Rajasthan Royals or Mumbai Indians or both. 

Both the IPL franchises are identified with these two legends of the game. TO their fans, they have given numerous occasions to rejoice in their reflected glory guiding India to become a superpower in the cricketing world in the last two decades.

In their illustrious career, these two have enriched the game not only with their talent but also with their conduct on and off the field. In an era, when controversies and fame go hand in hand, these two have set bright examples in staying humble and maintaining a clean image.

Tendulkar was a given fairytale farewell as his team successfully defended their CLT20 crown beating a spirited Rajasthan led by Dravid. 

While Dravid must have felt a pinch at not being able to land the final punch, he took pride in the manner his team responded in the wake of IPL spot-fixing scandal. The team looked to be on a mission leaving behind all the controversies and succeeded in making a strong statement with its performance.

Both Dravid and Tendulkar were given the guard of honour by their teammates as they finally walked into T20 sunset.

Career Stats of Rahul Dravid

Full name Rahul Sharad Dravid

Born January 11, 1973, Indore, Madhya Pradesh

Current age 40 years 270 days

Major teams India, Scotland, Asia XI, Canterbury,ICC World XI, Karnataka, Kent, Marylebone Cricket Club,Rajasthan Royals, Royal Challengers Bangalore

Nickname The Wall

Playing role Top-order batsman

Batting style Right-hand bat

Bowling style Right-arm offbreak

Fielding position Occasional wicketkeeper

Education St. Joseph's Boys' High School

Batting and fielding averages

	Mat	Inns	NO	Runs	HS	Ave	BF	SR	100	50	4s	6s	Ct	St
Tests	164	286	32	13288	270	52.31	31258	42.51	36	63	1654	21	210	0
ODIs	344	318	40	10889	153	39.16	15284	71.24	12	83	950	42	196	14
T20Is	1	1	0	31	31	31.00	21	147.61	0	0	0	3	0	0
First-class	298	497	67	23794	270	55.33			68	117			353	1
List A	449	416	55	15271	153	42.30			21	112			233	17
Twenty20	109	101	7	2586	75*	27.51	2271	113.87	0	13	311	34	23	0

Bowling averages

	Mat	Inns	Balls	Runs	Wkts	BBI	BBM	Ave	Econ	SR	4w	5w	10
Tests	164	5	120	39	1	1/18	1/18	39.00	1.95	120.0	0	0	0
ODIs	344	8	186	170	4	2/43	2/43	42.50	5.48	46.5	0	0	0
T20Is	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
First-class	298		617	273	5	2/16		54.60	2.65	123.4		0	0
List A	449		477	421	4	2/43	2/43	105.25	5.29	119.2	0	0	0
Twenty20	109	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Career statistics

Test debut	England v India at Lord's, Jun 20-24, 1996 scorecard
Last Test	Australia v India at Adelaide, Jan 24-28, 2012 scorecard
Test statistics
ODI debut	India v Sri Lanka at Singapore, Apr 3, 1996 scorecard
Last ODI	England v India at Cardiff, Sep 16, 2011 scorecard
ODI statistics
Only T20I	England v India at Manchester, Aug 31, 2011 scorecard
T20I statistics
First-class debut	1990/91
Last First-class	Australia v India at Adelaide, Jan 24-28, 2012 scorecard
List A debut	1992/93
Last List A	England v India at Cardiff, Sep 16, 2011 scorecard
Twenty20 debut	Karnataka v Gujarat at Mumbai (BS), Apr 17, 2007 scorecard
Last Twenty20	Mumbai Indians v Rajasthan Royals at Delhi, Oct 6, 2013 scorecard

Recent matches

Bat & Bowl	Team	Opposition	Ground	Match Date	Scorecard
1	Royals	v Mum Indians	Delhi	6 Oct 2013	T20
5	Royals	v Super Kings	Jaipur	4 Oct 2013	T20
10	Royals	v Otago	Jaipur	1 Oct 2013	T20
0	Royals	v Scorchers	Jaipur	29 Sep 2013	T20
31	Royals	v Lions	Jaipur	25 Sep 2013	T20
1	Royals	v Mum Indians	Jaipur	21 Sep 2013	T20
43	Royals	v Mum Indians	Kolkata	24 May 2013	T20
12	Royals	v Sunrisers	Delhi	22 May 2013	T20
25	Royals	v Sunrisers	Hyderabad (Deccan)	17 May 2013	T20
4	Royals	v Mum Indians	Mumbai	15 May 2013	T20

Profile

Rahul Dravid was probably one of the last classical Test match batsmen. His progress into the national side may have been steady and methodical rather than meteoric, but once there, Dravid established himself at the vanguard of a new, defiant generation that were no longer easybeats away from home. Armed with an orthodox technique drilled into him by Keki Tarapore, he became the cement that held the foundations firm while the flair players expressed themselves. Yet, for a man quickly stereotyped as one-paced and one-dimensional, he too could stroke the ball around when the mood struck him.

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  Career Stats of Sachin Tendulkar

  Sachin Tendulkar      

  India

  Full name Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar

  Born April 24, 1973, Bombay (now Mumbai), Maharashtra

  Current age 40 years 167 days

  Major teams India, Asia XI, Mumbai, Mumbai Indians,Yorkshire

  Nickname Tendlya, Little Master

  Playing role Top-order batsman

  Batting style Right-hand bat

  Bowling style Right-arm offbreak, Legbreak googly

  Height 5 ft 5 in

  Education Sharadashram Vidyamandir School

  In a nutshell Perhaps the most complete batsman and the most worshipped cricketer in the world, Tendulkar holds just about every batting record worth owning in the game, including those for most runs and hundreds in Tests and ODIs, and most international runs. More

  

  Batting and fielding averages

  	Mat	Inns	NO	Runs	HS	Ave	BF	SR	100	50	4s	6s	Ct	St
  Tests	198	327	33	15837	248*	53.86			51	67		69	115	0
  ODIs	463	452	41	18426	200*	44.83	21367	86.23	49	96	2016	195	140	0
  T20Is	1	1	0	10	10	10.00	12	83.33	0	0	2	0	1	0
  First-class	307	486	50	25228	248*	57.86			81	114			186	0
  List A	551	538	55	21999	200*	45.54			60	114			175	0
  Twenty20	96	96	11	2797	100*	32.90	2310	121.08	1	16	359	38	28	0

  Bowling averages

  	Mat	Inns	Balls	Runs	Wkts	BBI	BBM	Ave	Econ	SR	4w	5w	10
  Tests	198	142	4198	2461	45	3/10	3/14	54.68	3.51	93.2	0	0	0
  ODIs	463	270	8054	6850	154	5/32	5/32	44.48	5.10	52.2	4	2	0
  T20Is	1	1	15	12	1	1/12	1/12	12.00	4.80	15.0	0	0	0
  First-class	307		7563	4353	70	3/10		62.18	3.45	108.0		0	0
  List A	551		10230	8478	201	5/32	5/32	42.17	4.97	50.8	4	2	0
  Twenty20	96	8	93	123	2	1/12	1/12	61.50	7.93	46.5	0	0	0

  Career statistics

  Test debut	Pakistan v India at Karachi, Nov 15-20, 1989 scorecard
  Last Test	India v Australia at Delhi, Mar 22-24, 2013 scorecard
  Test statistics
  ODI debut	Pakistan v India at Gujranwala, Dec 18, 1989 scorecard
  Last ODI	India v Pakistan at Dhaka, Mar 18, 2012 scorecard
  ODI statistics
  Only T20I	South Africa v India at Johannesburg, Dec 1, 2006 scorecard
  T20I statistics
  First-class debut	1988/89
  Last First-class	India v Australia at Delhi, Mar 22-24, 2013 scorecard
  List A debut	1989/90
  Last List A	India v Pakistan at Dhaka, Mar 18, 2012 scorecard
  Twenty20 debut	South Africa v India at Johannesburg, Dec 1, 2006 scorecard
  Last Twenty20	Mumbai Indians v Rajasthan Royals at Delhi, Oct 6, 2013 scorecard

  Recent matches

  Bat & Bowl	Team	Opposition	Ground	Match Date	Scorecard
  15	Mum Indians	v Royals	Delhi	6 Oct 2013	T20
  35	Mum Indians	v Trinidad & T	Delhi	5 Oct 2013	T20
  0	Mum Indians	v Scorchers	Delhi	2 Oct 2013	T20
  5	Mum Indians	v Lions	Jaipur	27 Sep 2013	T20
  15	Mum Indians	v Royals	Jaipur	21 Sep 2013	T20
  38*	Mum Indians	v Sunrisers	Mumbai	13 May 2013	T20
  15	Mum Indians	v Warriors	Pune	11 May 2013	T20
  48	Mum Indians	v KKR	Mumbai	7 May 2013	T20
  15	Mum Indians	v Super Kings	Mumbai	5 May 2013	T20
  14	Mum Indians	v Sunrisers	Hyderabad (Deccan)	1 May 2013	T20

  Profile

  Sachin Tendulkar has been the most complete batsman of his time, the most prolific runmaker of all time, and arguably the biggest cricket icon the game has ever known. His batting is based on the purest principles: perfect balance, economy of movement, precision in stroke-making, and that intangible quality given only to geniuses - anticipation. If he doesn't have a signature stroke - the upright, back-foot punch comes close - it is because he is equally proficient at each of the full range of orthodox shots (and plenty of improvised ones as well) and can pull them out at will.