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Dravid moves ahead in world rankings

Anant Gaundalkar

The latest Pepsi cricket ratings are out and, perhaps to no one's surprise, the most dramatic climb up the ladder is that of Rahul Dravid, now standing fourth in the world one day rankings, way ahead of his captain Sachin Tendulkar in the number 16 slot.

Another interesting fact is that Robin Singh, no less, ranks 10th in the list of bowlers -- while Abey Kuruvilla comes in at number 15, and Anil Kumble even lower, at number 16.

Adam Hollioake, elder of the Hollioake brothers who did splendidly well for England in the recent 3-0 wipeout of Australia in the Texaco series, heads the batting list, while Nathan Astle of New Zealand tops the list of bowlers.

Ranking second to Hollioake is team-mate Graham Thorpe, with Sanath Jayasuriya of Sri Lanka coming in at number three and Dravid following on his heels. Jayasuriya and Dravid are, in fact, separated by a mere 54 points.

Pakistan batsman Saeed Anwar, who recently broke the world record for the highest one day score, comes in 7th -- thanks, mainly, to the fact that he did not fare well in the other three matches of the Independence Cup.

Meanwhile, what of Rahul Dravid? In his first year on the international circuit, the young batsman with nerves of chilled steel has already crossed the 1,000-run mark in both types of cricket -- 1,039 runs at an outstanding average of 51.95 in 14 Tests, and 1,065 runs at an impressive average of 35.50 in 35 one-day internationals.

What is interesting, besides Dravid's individual figures, are the number of century partnerships he has been associated in. Follows the complete break-up:

Runs Wicket position Partner Opponents Venue Season

165 Sixth M Azharuddin South Africa Kanpur 1996-97

145 Fourth S Ganguly South Africa Johannesburg 1996-97 (First innings)

108 Fourth S Ganguly South Africa Johannesburg 1996-97 (2^nd innings)

171 Second N S Sidhu West Indies Trinidad 1996-97

170 Third S Tendulkar West Indies Bridgetown 1996-97

101 Second A Jadeja West Indies Antigua 1996-97

163 Third S Tendulkar West Indies Georgetown 1996-97.

Following are complete details of Dravid's Test performances:

Season Opponents Venue Tests Inns No Runs Highest Avg 100's 50's

1996 England Away 2 3 - 187 95 62.33 - 2

1996-97 Australia Home 1 1 - 40 40 40.00 - -

1996-97 South Africa Home 3 6 - 175 56 29.17 - 1

1996-97 South Africa Away 3 6 1 277 148 55.50 1 1

1996-97 West Indies Away 5 7 2 369 92 72.00 - 4

Total 14 23 3 1039 148 51.95 1 8

Following are complete details of one-day performances:

Season Championships Venue Opponents M Inns No Runs Highest Avg 50's 100's

1995-96 Singer Cup Singapore Sl, Pak 2 2 - 7 4 3.50 - -

1995-96 Pepsi Sharjah Cup Sharjah Pak, SA. 2 2 - 14 11 7.00 - -

1996 Texaco Trophy England Eng. 1 1 1 22 22* - - -

1996-97 Singer World Series Sri Lanka Aus, Sl, Zimb 3 2 1 20 13* 20.00 - -

1996-97 Sahara Cup Tornto Pak 5 5 - 220 90 44.00 1 -

1996-97 Titan Cup Ind SA, Aust. 6 6 - 176 62 29.33 2 -

1996-97 Pepsi Challenge Cup Ind SA 1 1 - 16 16 16.00 - -

1996-97 Standard Bank Series SA SA, Zimb 8 8 - 280 84 35.00 3 -

1996-97 Cable & Wireless Series WI 4 3 - 121 74 40.33 1 -

1996-97 Pepsi Independence Cup India Pak, SL, NZ 3 3 1 189 107 94.50 - 1

Total 35 33 3 1065 107 35.50 7 1