Dhoni and Jadeja crush England

India 300 for 7 (Dhoni 87*, Raina 61) beat England 174 (Cook 60, Jadeja 3-34) by 126 runs
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	MS Dhoni's hard-hitting 87 not out was the bedrock of India's victory © AFP

Smart stats India's 126-run win is their second-largest in ODIs against England, next only to their triumph by 158 runs in Rajkot in 2008. That, incidentally, was also the first ODI of a series. India scored 161 runs in their last 16 overs, which is their fifth-highest during this period in an ODI over the last decade. Their highest is 182, in two matches - against South Africa in Rajkot, and against Bermuda in Port of Spain. MS Dhoni's unbeaten 87 is his fourth successive ODI half-century, and his third unbeaten one. He averages 45 against England, while his overall ODI average has crept back to more than 50. Dhoni and Suresh Raina are only the seventh non-opening pair from India to add more than 2000 partnership runs. Their average and strike rate are the best among those seven. Dhoni has become the first wicketkeeper-captain to take 100 catches. Kumar Sangakkara is next with 59 catches behind the stumps as captain.

MS

 Dhoni marked India's homecoming with a brutal innings of 87 not out from 70 balls, before the left-arm spin of Ravindra Jadeja sparked a dramatic English batting collapse, as the team that failed to win a single international fixture on their recent tour of England returned to form with a crushing 126-run victory at Hyderabad.

Dhoni's performance was his fourth half-century in as many international innings, but whereas the last three had been insufficient to force victory, this performance was more reminiscent of his last performance in a home international - his crushing 91 not out in the World Cup final against Sri Lanka in April.

After winning his first toss in six attempts against England, Dhoni chose to bat first on a slow surface, but India were struggling on 139 for 4 after 34 overs before he and Suresh Raina turned on the after-burners as a further 161 were added in the final third of the innings. As had regularly been the case in England, he started cautiously against a disciplined attack, and had reached 5 from 18 balls before belting his first boundary, from Ravi Bopara, to signal India's late charge.

In total, Dhoni belted 10 fours and one six in his innings, the latter coming from a trademark helicopter flick off Steven Finn in the penultimate over of the innings. Finn had started his day's work with impressive pace and accuracy, and should have had a first-over wicket when Jonathan Trott dropped a sitter off Ajinkya Rahane at second slip - a moment that only the 26,000 crowd were able to witness, thanks to a TV rights dispute that caused a three-over blackout. But Finn finished with the bruised figures of 1 for 67 in nine overs, with his solitary wicket that of Raina in his seventh over, moments after he had been battered for another six over long-on.

Raina, whose brutality against the full length ball was a sight to behold, crunched 61 from 55 balls, with both of his sixes coming from the final four balls of his innings. Like Dhoni, he had opted for circumspection in the early part of his stay, but the longer his 62-run stand for the fifth wicket continued, the more boisterous the Hyderabad crowd became.

It had been a more muted affair in the early part of India's innings. Parthiv Patel was run out at the non-striker's end for 9 as Finn fingertipped a Rahane drive onto the stumps, while Rahane himself had reached 15 from 41 balls when Graeme Swann dragged him out of his crease with his third delivery of the match to give Craig Kieswetter an easy stumping.

In his first match since recovering from concussion, Gautam Gambhir confirmed his fitness with a fluent 32 from 33 balls. However, Jade Dernbach's liquorice allsorts proved hard to pick and tough to get away on the surface, and the slower ball that did for Gambhir was a beauty. It looped up above the batsman's eyeline and dropped sharply to rap his shin in front of leg stump.

At 79 for 3 after 18 overs, the game was very much in the balance. However, England's position could, and probably should, have been even better after 25 overs, when Samit Patel repeated Finn's trick of dropping his fingertips on a straight drive. It was Raina this time who was in peril as the bails were dislodged, but after a lengthy delay for the TV adjudication, he was given the benefit of the doubt by the third umpire, Sudhir Ashani.

In the final analysis, however, it really didn't matter. Though Alastair Cook continued his impressive form as England captain with 60 from 63 balls, his dismissal in the 23rd over of the innings precipated a dramatic collapse at the hands of Jadeja and R Ashwin. England tumbled from 111 for 2 to 134 for 7 in the space of 40 balls, and only Samit Patel (16) and the No. 10, Finn, with a run a ball 18, provided any resistance.

Praveen Kumar, India's star bowler from their ill-fated tour of England, had launched India's defence in fine style, opening up with a maiden to Cook, and he had not conceded a run when he extracted Kieswetter with his eighth delivery, a full-length ball that jagged off the seam to take a thin edge through to Dhoni.

The loss of their top-order powerhitter caused England to rejig their conventional batting order, with Kevin Pietersen emerging at No. 3 ahead of the more staid Trott. The plan looked to be paying off as Pietersen launched his innings with ominous resolve, but having struck three fours in a 28-ball 19, he attempted a quick single to mid-on where Ashwin nailed him with a direct hit.

Trott then appeared at No. 4, and for 13.3 overs he and Cook steadied the innings, adding 71 for the third wicket to give England a solid platform. But then, having brought up his fifty at exactly a run a ball, Cook gave his innings away with a loose clip to deep midwicket off Ravindra Jadeja, and thwacked his pad with his bat in frustration as he left the crease.

Worse was to follow for England two overs later. Trott, whose 26 from 42 balls had been a typically measured performance, attempted an ungainly smear across the line against Jadeja and lost his leg stump, and eight balls later, Ravi Bopara drove loosely at Ashwin and chipped a simple return catch to the keeper.

Jadeja by now was on a roll with the crowd fully behind him, and he extended England's collapse to four wickets in 26 balls when Jonny Bairstow, the hero of the run-chase in Cardiff, last month, also offered up a return catch. His figures after four overs were 3 for 17, and England's unbeaten run against India in 2011 was soon all over.

Innings Dot balls 4s 6s PP1 PP2 PP3 Last 10 overs NB/Wides India 144 22 5 47/1 20/1 59/1 91/2 1/18 England 115 16 1 48/2 29/0 26/2 n/a 0/3

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Warriors seal thrilling last-ball win

Warriors 173 for 7 (Prince 74, Botha 42, Vettori 2-26) beat Royal Challengers Bangalore 172 for 8 (Kohli 34, de Villiers 31, Theron 4-29) by two wickets
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How they were out

	Ashwell Prince showed there was enough room for correct batsmen playing correct shots in Twenty20 © Associated Press Enlarge
Related Links Players/Officials: Ashwell Prince Matches: Royal Challengers Bangalore v Warriors at Bangalore Series/Tournaments: Champions League Twenty20 Teams: India | Royal Challengers Bangalore | South Africa | Warriors

The Warriors lower-order batsmen kept swinging their first balls for boundaries to make sure the comeback from Ashwell Prince and Johan Botha was not wasted. Royal Challengers Bangalore had the game won, then lost, then won, then lost, then won, until they finally lost it last ball. Prince and Botha came together with 91 required off 8.1 overs, but by the time Prince fell for 74 off 55 they were left needing 18 off 10. Craig Thyssen then squeezed a yorker out for four before edging the next, Nicky Boje came out to pull the first he faced for a six only to watch Botha play two dots before getting out in the final over. With six required off two, it was Wayne Parnell's turn to pull a slower bouncer away for four before hitting the final ball to the left of long-on for the match-winning couple.

Like the famous World Cup tie between India and England at the same venue, this match kept turning this way and that so frequently it left you dizzy. Trusting a flat track and short boundaries, the batsmen remained brave, even when it was tense. Especially when it was tense. All five of Bangalore's set batsmen, whose attractive efforts ranged between 34 and 23, were caught at the boundary, leaving them an in-between total by Chinnaswamy Stadium standards. The main beneficiary of that hitting was Rusty Theron who ended up with four wickets.

Warriors came out swinging too: JJ Smuts lofted S Aravind, the near last-over hero, for a six off the first ball he bowled, Prince swung Chris Gayle for two sixes in his second. Led by Daniel Vettori, the man with the best T20I economy rate among bowlers with at least 50 overs to their name, Bangalore inched back into the match. Vettori accounted for Colin Ingram and Justin Kreusch, but his side's fielding was to soon let him down.

Prince should have been out for 28 off 28 when Viratn Kohli dropped a sitter at midwicket. Botha should have been out for 14 when his top edge lobbed over Mayank Agarwal, who was a couple of yards inside the boundary, at fine leg. That shouldn't take the shine off the efforts of the two. A long-form specialist at international level, Prince showed there was enough room for correct batsmen playing correct shots in Twenty20. He kept the fight up even as wickets fell at the other end, and stayed long enough to bring up his highest Twenty20 score.

And if he did lose faith with the wickets falling, Botha would have reinforced it with a smacking off-drive for four off the first ball he faced. The two then started peppering all boundaries, and a game of tactics ensued. Vettori kept attacking through himself, Dirk Nannes and Chris Gayle, leaving the final two overs for the Indian bowlers who had gone for plenty earlier. Neither Prince nor Botha took a backward step. Prince saw Vettori off with a six off the last ball he bowled, and Botha bid Gayle farewell with two sixes in his last.

Then began two crazy overs for two Karnataka youngsters. Abhimanyu Mithun ran in with 18 to defend in the last two, with 72 having come off the previous 6.1. Prince top-edged a slog to send Bangalore into ecstasy. Mithun followed it up a decent full and wide ball, which Thyssen squirted past point. Mithun came back next ball with a short-of-a-length delivery that took the edge. Six off five with two wickets so far. In came Boje, got a short ball, pulled it over wide long-on for six.

Time for another Bangalorean then to try to redeem himself. With just six to defend, Aravind responded boldly. He went round the stumps, called the keeper up, and beat Botha with back-to-back slower deliveries. Then the man with 42 off 23 made the mistake, holing out to long-on. Boje managed only a single next ball, and Royal Challengers were about to make the final mistake. For the first time in the over Aravind sent the keeper back. Parnell was almost expecting a short ball, when he sat back and waited for the slower bouncer to arrive. He pulled it in the air, it bounced inches inside the midwicket boundary. Botha thought it was a six, and charged onto the field.

He had to go back and watch a mis-hit to long-on off the last ball before he could finally celebrate. Bangalore had lost the inaugural match of a league season again, taking the count to two in IPL and two in Champions league.

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Kolkata lose, but qualify alongside Somerset

Somerset 166 for 6 (Trego 70, van der Merwe 40) beat Kolkata Knight Riders 155 for 8 (ten Doeschate 46, van der Merwe 2-23) by 11 runs
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	Ryan ten Doeschate could not carry Kolkata to a win, but he did enough to steer them into the CLT20's main draw © AFP Enlarge
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Somerset out-fielded and out-bowled Kolkata Knight Riders to push them to the brink of elimination, but an ice-cool Ryan ten Doeschate hauled them alongside their opponents into the main draw of the Champions League. Kolkata needed 153 to qualify after Somerset had waltzed to an imposing 166 for 6 and, at 57 for 4 in the 10th over, seemed to have lost the final spot to Ruhuna. ten Doeschate however pulled off a special heist to ensure there will be four IPL teams in the main draw.

Ruhuna ended up the biggest losers of the day, and Kolkata celebrated jubilantly despite falling short 12 of victory, but Somerset deserved the most praise. They arrived for the tournament bleary-eyed and dispirited, two days after losing their fifth domestic final in two years, and without many of their first-choice players. If they were knackered, they didn't show it: Peter Trego batted with freedom, Roelof van der Merwe was typically tigerish with bat and on the field, and the three-pronged spin attack was ruthless to the end.

Kolkata were at the other end of the spectrum, and their struggles were epitomised by the inability of Manoj Tiwary and Shreevats Goswami - batsmen bred on slow tracks - to force the pace against spin. That Kolkata had lost the in-form Manvinder Bisla and captain Jacques Kallis early did not help matters, and things became worse when the legspinner Max Waller disloged both Tiwary and Goswami. Thereafter, ten Doeschate owned the night.

He announced himself with a lofted drive that Nick Compton palmed over the ropes at long-off, but that was the closest he came to being dismissed. With the asking-rate hovering out of reach, he dabbed Trego through point before whipping Arul Suppiah over midwicket for six. Yusuf Pathan was surprisingly subdued in his brief stay, but by the time he exited it was clear that the wicket that mattered was at the other end.

Shakib Al Hasan's stay was ended by a blinder in the outfield from van der Merwe, who single-handedly underlined the difference in fielding standards between the sides. Rajat Bhatia then held his nerve in a 30-run stand that took Kolkata close, while ten Doeschate continued to produce the fireworks with an audacious whip over midwicket for his third six. Van der Merwe dismissed both batsmen in the final over, but it wasn't enough to stop Kolkata.

Earlier, Somerset showed they had better methods against spin than their county rivals Leicestershire had displayed earlier in the day. Trego went after Iqbal Abdulla despite not always managing to reach the flight, and his enterprise forced Jacques Kallis to rely on seamers more than he would have liked, a move that played into Somerset's hands.

They moved to 56 for 1 after eight overs, at which point Trego shifted gears against Bhatia's mind-numbingly predictable lack of pace. Trego lost his balance while pulling him for four before cutting late for another boundary. The next over went for 17 as van der Merwe exploded against a raft of long-hops from Yusuf. Jaidev Unadkat gave Kolkata some respite when he got van der Merwe pulling to midwicket, and James Hildreth with a slower ball, but Trego bustled along unfettered, scoring his boundaries with a series of correct strokes. Unadkat was drilled through the covers, Jacques Kallis pulled through midwicket, and the Kolkata shoulders began to droop in a hurry.

Trego was starved of strike a touch in the end overs, but it did not seem to matter as Compton ramped Lee for six and stole a found a couple of inventive boundaries. More importantly for Somerset, Kolkata stayed generous right to the last over, with Unadkat making a hash of a regulation save at midwicket, and Lee getting a wicket of a no-ball. Kolkata's fielders had done themselves no favours, but the itinerary that gave them the chance to play the last innings of the qualifier stage was about to.

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Bairstow blasts England home on debut

England 241 for 4 (Trott 63, Cook 50, Bairstow 41*) beat India 304 for 6 (Kohli 107, Dravid 69) by six wickets (D/L method)
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	Virat Kohli produced India's first century of their one-day campaign, but he was trumped by a brilliant debut from Jonny Bairstow © Getty Images Enlarge
Related Links Players/Officials: Jonny Bairstow | Ravi Bopara | Alastair Cook | Virat Kohli | Suresh Raina | Jonathan Trott Matches: England v India at Cardiff Series/Tournaments: India tour of England Teams: England | India

Not even India's first 300-plus total in 14 attempts against England could prove sufficient to win their first international fixture of a desperately one-sided tour, as the 21-year-old Yorkshire batsman Jonny Bairstow marked his international debut with a nerveless display of power-hitting under the floodlights at Cardiff. Chasing a revised target of 241 in 34 overs after a sequence of Duckworth-Lewis readjustments, Bairstow battered an extraordinary 41 from 21 balls, as England eased home with 10 balls to spare.

In a breathless performance, Bairstow struck the fifth ball of his international career for six over midwicket, and added two more and a four for good measure, as England marched up the mountain to complete their third victory of the series and their eighth in ten international matches against India this summer.

The denouement stole the thunder from Virat Kohli's excellent 107 from 93, and also overshadowed the final ODI match of Rahul Dravid's 344-match career. He signed off with 69 from 79 balls, and a handshake from every England player, but as had been the case all summer, he was powerless to stop a team on the rampage.

Such a dramatic turn of events had seemed unlikely at the halfway mark of the day, which was reached amid similar pyrotechnics, as India's captain, MS Dhoni, slammed an even 50 from 26 balls to haul his team to an imposing total of 304 for 6. It was four runs more than they had managed in their final innings of the Test series, at The Oval back in August, and when two untimely rain-showers lopped 10 overs and only 34 runs off the chase, England's task appeared to have been made all the more awkward.

But they approached their task with confidence from the outset. In damp conditions, but on a still firm deck, Craig Kieswetter struck four fours in his first 12 balls to motor along to 21 from 17, before he was adjudged lbw a delivery that looked to be sliding past leg stump, while Alastair Cook provided the ballast once again, skitting along to 50 from 54 balls to set England up for their late push.

Another rain delay in the tenth over forced another D/L readjustment, but not before the newly-crowned ICC Cricketer of the Year, Jonathan Trott, had slammed Munaf Patel straight back down towards the River Taff for the first six of his ODI career. Cook reached his fifty in a frenetic over from Kohli, which included - in consecutive deliveries - a reverse lap for four, a terrible dropped catch at backward square from Dravid, and a mow across the line that led to Cook's middle stump being pegged back.

Smart stats England's 3-0 series win is only the third series of three or more matches when they have won at least three games without a single defeat. The two previous series were against South Africa in 2008 and Zimbabwe in 2001-02. Virat Kohli scored his sixth century in ODIs. Among Indian batsmen with 2000 runs in ODIs, Kohli's average 43.46 is behind only those of MS Dhoni (48.88) and Sachin Tendulkar (45.16). Rahul Dravid's 69 is his 95th fifty-plus score in ODIs. He is fifth on the list of batsmen with the most fifty-plus scores in ODIs. Tendulkar leads the list with 143 fifty-plus scores. The 170-run stand with Kohli is the highest that Dravid has been involved in against England surpassing the 169-run stand with Tendulkar in 2002. The partnership between Dravid and Kohli is the fourth-highest stand for any wicket for India against England. It is also the seventh century stand and the highest partnership in ODIs in Cardiff. Dhoni's strike rate of 192.30 during his innings of 50 off 26 balls is the highest strike rate for an Indian batsman against England for a fifty-plus score. The run-rate of 11.25 during the partnership between Ravi Bopara and Jonny Bairstow is the second-highest for the fifth-wicket for England in ODIs (fifty-plus stands).

Trott might already have been caught at mid-off had Munaf not overstepped, and Munaf's evening got even worse when he slipped in the outfield and limped off with a twisted ankle. But Trott by now was getting into the mood, and with Ian Bell alongside him, he laid into the left-arm spin of Ravindra Jadeja, who was smacked for 1, 6, 1, 6, 1, 6 in a single over that went for 21 and catapulted England ahead of the D/L requirement.

The two men fell in consecutive overs - Bell holed out to long-off against RP Singh, before Jadeja gained a measure of revenge by removing Trott who slapped to point - but Bairstow's arrival provided the carefree attitude that the situation required. At first, Ravi Bopara was unable to break the shackles to quite the same extent, but found his range as the target drew nearer, slogging RP Singh over deep fine leg for a top-edged six as he closed his series on 34 not out from 20 balls.

After winning the toss for the fifth match in a row, Cook's decision to bowl first was influenced by the prospect of showers and evening dew, but England struggled for breakthroughs at the outset. Parthiv Patel and Ajinkya Rahane added 52 for the first wicket, and though Steven Finn kept the Powerplays in check with an excellent first spell of seven overs for 22, England's fielding became notably ragged at key moments of the innings. Samit Patel dropped two bad catches, one at third man off Rahane to deny Finn a deserved early wicket, and England were once again indebted to the spin of Graeme Swann, who returned figures of 3 for 34 in nine overs to prevent the run-rate from getting completely out of hand.

It was Dravid and Kohli who turned on the style, slowly at first but with increasing poise as their partnership mounted. Jade Dernbach's sixth over was dispatched for 15 as Kohli's strong wrists and superb timing plundered his variations, before Patel was battered out of the attack with two fours over midwicket and a massive spring-loaded six over long-off. Though he slowed his tempo with his hundred in sight, he eventually turned Swann through square leg for a single to bring up his landmark from 87 deliveries, and was celebrating with jubilation before he had even completed the run.

One delivery later, Dravid's ODI career was brought to an end as Swann tweaked one through his gate and into the top of off stump, and when Kohli trod on his own stumps while working a single through square leg, England had prised themselves an opening that Dhoni - the eventual Man of the Series - did his utmost to slam shut. But India's defence was hampered by the absence of Praveen Kumar, who twisted his ankle while playing football in the warm-up, and without Munaf at the death, they simply had no answer to Bairstow's brilliant onslaught.

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Confident Marsh steers Australia

Tea Australia 154 for 4 (Marsh 68*, Hussey 18*) v Sri Lanka
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	Shaun Marsh was 68 not out at tea © AFP Enlarge
Related Links Preview : Sri Lanka look to level series Matches: Sri Lanka v Australia at Colombo (SSC) Series/Tournaments: Australia tour of Sri Lanka Teams: Australia | Sri Lanka

Shaun Marsh justified Australia's decision to keep him at No.3 with a gutsy half-century on the first day in Colombo, where Sri Lanka held a slight edge at tea. Having been sent in by Tillakaratne Dilshan, Australia had reached 154 for 4 at the break, with Marsh on 68 and Michael Hussey on 18, and their partnership was the important one for Sri Lanka to break, with only the out-of-form Brad Haddin and the bowlers to come.

However, getting through Marsh and Hussey was not proving an easy task, both men showing the sort of concentration that earned them hundreds in the Pallekele Test. Marsh especially was impressive in his composure, defending the good balls, leaving those he could, and choosing the right ones to put away.

In the final over before tea, Marsh drove a boundary straight down the ground off Suranga Lakmal, which took him to 209 runs in his first two Test innings, the most by an Australia player, passing Kepler Wessels' record of 208. He brought up his half-century from his 125th delivery with a pull for four off Lakmal, and it was typical of his innings: a bad ball, and no risk in the stroke.

His senior team-mates could have learnt something from his approach. Ricky Ponting, who moved down to No.4 to accommodate Marsh, played well for his 48 but appeared to lose concentration when he drove at a fullish outswinger from Lakmal and edged behind, while Michael Clarke's poor run of form continued, even back down at No.5.

Clarke flashed at a wide ball from Shaminda Eranga and was caught behind for 6, and it was a very unimpressive piece of batting given Australia's need to make the most of the chance to bat first. It was a surprise that Dilshan sent Australia in, but he believed the surface would provide some early seam movement due to rain in the lead-up to the game.

It was the 12th occasion a captain had sent the opposition in at the SSC, but only twice has that decision led to a victory: both times against Bangladesh. The early signs for Sri Lanka were good, with Lakmal removing Phillip Hughes for a second-ball duck in the second over. Lakmal angled the ball across the left-hander and straightened it just a fraction off the seam. The ball caught the inside edge of the bat as Hughes wafted aimlessly away from his body, and the stumps were rattled.

It was a disappointing effort from Hughes, who is viewed by the selectors as the long-term opening partner for Shane Watson but has not reached fifty in any of his past ten Test innings. Shane Watson is also experiencing an uncharacteristic lean patch, and that continued when on 8, he drove hard at a full and wide delivery from Eranga and was snapped up at backward point.

It was a joyous moment for Eranga, who became the second Sri Lankan to take a wicket with his first ball in Test cricket, after Chamila Gamage in 2002, and the second man to achieve the feat in this series after Australia's Nathan Lyon. The inclusion of Eranga was one of a raft of changes to Sri Lanka's line-up for this Test.

The left-arm spinner, Rangana Herath, was included after missing the Pallekele Test due to a finger injury, and the Sri Lankans went for a more seam-heavy attack by dropping the spinners Suraj Randiv and Seekkuge Prasanna. They also axed the veteran batsman Thilan Samaraweera and brought in Lahiru Thirimanne, who will open, while Dilshan will move down to No.5.

But first, they need to get through the rest of Australia's batting order. And against an in-form Marsh and Hussey, that could be easier said than done.

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Just another day in Dravid's life

Related Links Features : The misfit who thrived Players/Officials: Rahul Dravid Matches: England v India at Cardiff Series/Tournaments: India tour of England Teams: India

Many things have happened to Rahul Dravid on this England tour. He made his maiden century at Lord's, fulfilling a desire that was born the day he made 95 on Test debut at the ground 15 years ago. He opened for virtually the entire Test series barring the first innings of the first Test, and ended up with the Player of the Series trophy on the visitors' side. He walked in the second innings of the third Test at Edgbaston believing the umpire's word for a caught-behind when replays conclusively showed the ball had kissed an aglet on his left shoe-lace. He was shocked to hear the news that the he was part of the Indian one-day squad as reinforcement after injuries had ruled many of the frontline players. He played his first and last Twenty20 international where he hit three consecutive sixes, the most by an Indian in the match. Tomorrow Dravid will not only pull curtains on a "bittersweet" tour but also on his one-day career. Luckily Dravid does not mind that one bit.

Today Dravid was expansive, clear and even tinged his answers with a pinch of wit while facing the media on the eve of his final one-day match. Throughout his career Dravid's was an image of a man unsatisfied, of a man who despite all his achievements and humility, was struggling to prove something to himself, more than to the outside world. In some ways his battle with the self always benefited Indian cricket as he grew into the role of crisis manager. He climbed up the batting ladder to occupy a permanent position in the top order primarily at three and four where his best batting was seen.

Being a grafter at the first-class level, Dravid found life difficult in his formative years in the one-day game. But once he returned in 1999 having faced the axe a few times in his first three years, he transformed himself into a batsman who could pace an innings cleverly despite never going for the slog. He even led India, kept wickets, and moved up and down the order in search of pressure situations. He did everything that was asked of him and more. Today he explained how he could pull it off.

"I probably had to work harder in one-day cricket than in Tests. It has given me a lot satisfaction that I have been able to achieve so much," Dravid said. "When I started my career, obviously I wasn't recognised as much of a one-day cricketer, [I was] probably more in the traditional frame of mind. That's how I grew up playing cricket, that's how I played my Ranji Trophy cricket. So there was a lot more learning that I had to do in one-day cricket along the way. I faced some ups and downs, I got dropped in the middle, I had to go back and learn some lessons, I had to improve my game, keep getting better."

	"I probably had to work harder in one-day cricket than in Tests" © AFP Enlarge

But Dravid acknowledged the advantages of early struggle and the I-am-only-going-to-improve attitude. "It helped free up my Test game and it has given me lot of satisfaction," Dravid said of his one-day resurgence. "I have done a lot of different things for India in one-day cricket. In some ways that versatility, that ability to do different things helped me a lot. You open the batting, it is different; batting at three is different; keeping and then batting, batting and then keeping ... so many different situations that I found myself in. It helped me grow as a person and cricketer."

Currently Dravid is the seventh highest run-maker and eighth in the list of most ODI appearances, something even he didn't envisage when he started playing. "The fact that I played over 300 games, [and made] close to 11,000 runs gives me a lot of satisfaction. Maybe people might have said at some stage that I will have successful Test career, but I guess not many people would have said that I'll play that many one-dayers at the start of my career. I wouldn't have said that about myself."

Though he did not shortlist his best one-day innings, Dravid pointed out reaching the final of the 2003 World Cup as one of the highlights of his career. Equally satisfying, he said, was watching MS Dhoni's side win the World Cup earlier this year even if Dravid was not part of the squad. "As a young kid in 1983, watching Kapil Dev lift the World Cup was a huge inspiration for me as a 10-year-old. Towards the end of my career, watching another Indian team and being part of the journey in some ways, and watching a team led by Dhoni in 2011 has been really satisfying," Dravid said. The biggest disappointment for him would be the failure to make the Super Sixes in the 2007 World Cup where India lost to Bangladesh in the league stage. He was the captain, and has still not come to terms with that disappointment.

The intensity in their training, the discipline, the hardwork have been the pillars on which Sachin Tendulkar, Anil Kumble and Dravid built their success. These were also the characteristics that aided in the trio's longevity. "If you want to play international cricket and international sport for a long period of time, there are certain sacrifices that you need to make and discipline that you need to follow," Dravid said. "To be honest I have never seen them as sacrifices. I love the lifestyle of a cricketer, I love being a cricketer, l liked playing for my country. In some ways I feel lucky that I enjoy hitting the balls in the nets, I enjoy working hard and I enjoy practising. Sometimes when people ask me 'what will you do after cricket', I feel I will miss just that intensity of preparation, the practice."

In the last two months Dravid has always been the first player to come out an hour or two before the rest of the Indian squad assembled for training. Today was no different. He was at SWALEC stadium, facing throw-downs from Trevor Penney, the Indian fielding coach. It was a beautiful sunny day, and the trees surrounding the small ground dazzled in the vintage autumn colours of red, gold and orange. Comfortable in his own space, Dravid set about working on minor adjustments to his batting technique. It does not matter to him that he won't have to play another ODI after tomorrow.

"I am not dreading quitting. You just recognise that the time has got to come at some stage when you have got to move on. I am happy and I am comfortable in the space that I am in. I am happy with the way my career has progressed, how it has progressed in both forms of the game.

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