Thread

#RandomCricketPhotosThatMakeMeHappy

Rahul Dravid losing his cool on the pitch isn't a very common occurrence. But this one time he did. And Hamish Blair captured the man's frustration so well in this photograph from this India Australia fixture at the MCG in 2000.

Coming off a 0-3 defeat in Tests, a deflated team India had suffered a narrow defeat in Brisbane against Pakistan on the 10th January in their first game of the tournament. And on 12th, they found themselves facing Australia at the MCG.

A target of 270 wasn't going to be easy and definitely not after being 3 down for 68. But Rahul Dravid joined forces with Sourav Ganguly and gave India a glimmer of hope with a 109 run stand. But then Ganguly got run out right after completing his century.

The trouble was that the big screen on the ground showed that he had made his crease, which supposedly was a technical glitch. At this point, the Indian crowds lost it and started throwing anything they had on to the pitch. Play was stopped for 17 minutes.

Eventually, Dravid along with Robin Singh had to plead the Indian supporters to behave. Done with his fire-fighting with the crowd, Dravid took guard again but the break proved too long for his concentration and he was out soon.

India lost by 28 runs.

To be pleading to fellow countrymen to behave on an international stage isn't exactly what a cricketer should be needing to do while playing for his country. Too bad, cricket's ultimate nice man Dravid had to do that too on that evening.