JOIN US“I feel I am in the middle of a good patch,” Dravid told newsmen on Monday evening. “I feel I'm in a good space with my game and mentally as well. I am really trying to make it count, last as long as it can. Even in the nets, I feel quite relaxed. Cricket’s a funny game, you never know when the tough time is round the corner. So when you are having a good run, you’ve got to keep it going. “I just try and focus on preparation, on getting into the right frame of mind every time I play. Sometimes I succeed, sometimes I don't.”
Dravid fell with stumps imminent, giving occasional offie Kraigg Brathwaite his first Test wicket by chopping him on to the stumps. “I was just disappointed,” he said of his reaction of disgust and despair. “I had batted almost the whole day and it was nearing the end. It would have been really nice to start the next day with two set batsmen, especially when the new ball has been taken. It's always better to come back fresh the next day with a hundred behind you.”
Since Jamaica in June, the runs have been flowing, so much so that the former skipper is now the leading Test run-maker in 2011. “I haven’t done anything different,” he pointed out.
“The Jamaica century gave me confidence and I just carried on from there. I did not change my technique much. I have worked with Duncan (Fletcher) a little bit. He has suggested a few things which are helping. He can read the game quite well, it's good to have him around.”
Dravid grudgingly conceded that Monday’s 119 was the easiest of his four hundreds at the Eden. “None of them have been easy,” he stated. “In the context of the game, the 180 against Australia is the most celebrated one, it came under tough conditions and a tough attack. The hundreds in both innings against Pakistan are also very dear to me. Those knocks were literally match-deciders. We will see how this one goes but yes, relatively it was the easiest.”
Of all the Tests he has played at the Eden, never has the turn-out been as poor. “I remember coming here in the ’90s, 80-100,000 people used to watching a game of cricket. That’s not the case there days. In some ways, it is a little sad but that's the way it is. It is not only in Kolkata but a worldwide phenomenon. It's becoming tougher and tougher to get people on to the ground. Not that the magic was not there today, but there was a magic about this ground with 80-100,000 people cheering. It was electrifying.”