5 memorable innings by Rahul Dravid in overseas conditions

#4 Australia vs India, Perth, 2008

Rahul Dravid: 93 off 278 balls

The WACA pitch at Perth has long evoked nightmares for the overseas batsman due to the prodigious pace and bounce it offers.The visitors had played at Perth 15 years ago and though the only lone survivor (Sachin Tendulkar) would have carried happy personal memories, even he would not have forgotten the ignominy of the final innings when the last ten wickets had fallen for 59 runs. India was expected to get blown away against the might of the Aussie pace attack that included Mitchell Johnson, Brett Lee, Stuart Clarke and debutant Shaun Tait. Batting first, India had a steady opening partnership with Wasim Jaffer and Virender Sehwag, who put on 57 before Sehwag was picked up Johnson.

In walked India's No. 3 Rahul Dravid, the man India needed the most on this track. Dravid started cautiously, shouldering arms to many deliveries outside the off-stump and started constructing quintessential Dravid innings. On a pitch where most batsmen played and missed, the Karnataka player's partnership with Tendulkar, especially in the afternoon session on day one, provided technical virtuosity. Dravid may have fallen seven runs short of a well-deserved hundred, but his innings on a first-day pitch laid the foundation of one of the best overseas Tests win for India, bringing Australia's run of 16 games without a loss to a screeching halt.