In cricket, it is the captain’s duty to lead his side to victory. He should make crucial choices as a leader that could benefit the success of his other teammates. Rahul Dravid, Indian captains, batted in position seven against Bermuda in the team’s subsequent match after they lost to Bangladesh in their opening match of the 2007 World Cup so that other batters may advance the innings.
Dravid was an upper middle-order hitter back then, but on that particular day, he gave up his place to aid India in amassing a massive total. Following this episode, there have been a few instances in which Indian captains have entered the batting order at uncharacteristic points in their careers.
Here are three examples of surprising locations where Indian captains batted.
1. Rahul Dravid vs Pakistan in the 2006 Lahore Test
In Test cricket, Rahul Dravid was among the hardest batters for bowlers to face. Dravid, the third batsman for the Indian Test team, contributed significantly more runs than the other batters. Virender Sehwag and skipper Dravid batted as openers in the first Test match in Lahore during India’s 2006 tour of Pakistan.
After winning the toss and electing to bat first, Pakistan declared their innings on 679/7 before India began their batting. After the big total, Sehwag and Dravid’s aggressive batting destroyed the home team’s bowling staff. While the captain showed class with his remarkable innings of undefeated 128 off 233, Sehwag produced an unbeaten knock of 254 off just 247 deliveries.
India amassed 410 points thanks to some superb plays from both players, however rain stopped play and the match was called a draw. India was heavily experimenting at the time with their batting order, and as a result, Dravid made the decision to take on the position of an opener.
2. Rohit Sharma vs West Indies in the 2023 Barbados ODI
In 2023, India visited the West Indies, and following a victory in the Test series, the two sides squared off in Barbados for the opening ODI. After winning the toss, Rohit Sharma, the captain of India, decided to field first. India bowled out the hosts for 114 runs because to the outstanding bowling efforts of Kuldeep Yadav (4/6 in three overs) and Ravindra Jadeja (3/37 in six overs).
Ishan Kishan and Shubman Gill were the players of choice for India to follow the low total after skipper Rohit opted to give the kid an opportunity to shoulder the responsibility and play a decent knock. By seizing the chance, Kishan amassed a half-century, but Shubman was removed after only seven runs.
The India captain sent Suryakumar Yadav to the third position after Shubman was dismissed instead of Rohit, who was supposed to come out. With five wickets remaining, India won the match easily. Rohit, who entered to bat at number seven, scored an unbeaten 12 off 19 to help his team win together with Jadeja.
3. MS Dhoni at number five in the 2011 ICC World Cup
With his leadership and batting, MS Dhoni played a major part in India’s World Cup triumph in 2011. India was under intense pressure to win the final game against Sri Lanka at the Wankhede Stadium. The captain of Sri Lanka, Kumara Sangakkara, elected to bat first after winning the toss.
Mahela Jayawardene’s undefeated century helped Sri Lanka reach 274/6 in their 50 overs. India lost Virender Sehwag on the second delivery while chasing the target, which was a crucial wicket. After Sehwag was dismissed, Sachin returned to the pavilion after just getting 18 off of 14. Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir put together an 83-run partnership, but when Kohli was out with India trailing by 114 runs, things got dicey.
After losing three wickets, the in-form Yuvraj Singh was anticipated to walk to the crease, but Dhoni choose to advance himself in the batting order for the crucial match. Coming in at number five, the quick wicketkeeper batsman supported Gambhir and put up a 109-run stand with him to give India the upper hand in the game. Gambhir was removed on 97, but Dhoni persisted and won the match for the Men in Blue with an unbeaten 91 off just 79.
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