5 underrated ODI knocks of Rahul Dravid

4) 84 at Durban against South Africa in 1997

Rahul Dravid scored a belligerent 84 against South Africa in Durban

Playing under lights at Durban used to be a tricky proposition for the batsmen and the chasing teams often suffered because of that.

After only a year into international cricket, Dravid played one of his best ODI knocks at Durban against the likes of Shaun Pollock, Allan Donald and Lance Klusener in the final of the Standard Bank International One-Day Series.

Chasing 278, which was later revised to 251, India started well thanks to some brilliant batting by Sachin Tendulkar. After the departure of Tendulkar, who struck 45 off just 33 balls, Dravid and his skipper Azharuddin steadied the ship.

Dravid played the perfect role of a supporting batsman as he went about his job in the most efficient manner. However, the loss of wickets at regular intervals didn’t help Dravid’s cause as India eventually lost the game by 17 runs.

However, the right-hander won the man of the match award for his valiant 84.