Recalling the Border-Gavaskar Trophy Partnership: Dravid reflects on getting Ganguly run out, admitting it was his mistake

India, holding a slender 1-0 lead, are all set to challenge Australia in the second Test match, which is also a pink-ball fixture, of the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Adelaide on Friday. In the previous match in Perth, the visitors displayed their dominance by clinching a victory, even in the absence of captain Rohit Sharma, who had to return to India for paternity leave.

Speaking to Star Sports, former India head coach and cricketer Rahul Dravid took a walk down memory lane as he recalled his sensational partnership with VVS Laxman in Adelaide during the 2003-04 Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Recalling his mistake before Laxman’s arrival on the crease, Dravid said, “I was thinking, 'I've got the captain run out. I better do something meaningful.' It was totally my mistake getting Saurav (Ganguly) run out.”

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Dravid went on to build a 303-run stand with Laxman. In response to Australia's first innings total of 556, India posted 526, courtesy of Dravid’s 233 and Laxman’s 148-run knocks.

Speaking on their partnership, he said, “The thing with Laxman and me is that we had batted together a couple of really big partnerships before that.”

“As the partnership grew, the wicket was a pretty good one to bat on, the ball got a bit softer, and runs started flowing a lot easier,” he added, while speaking on Star Sports.

Dravid also had special praise for wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant. He claimed, “It's just phenomenal. I mean, it's hard to imagine that, after Dhoni left, you felt there might be some time for someone to come in and replace him. I'm not saying he's replaced him, but certainly in Test cricket, his performances have been absolutely sensational.”

The match ended in victory for India as Dravid’s 72* in the second innings helped them chase down a target of 230, winning by four wickets. Dravid is currently serving as Director of Cricket for IPL franchise Rajasthan Royals and was a key figure during the recent auction in Jeddah.