Rahul Dravid did not become The Wall overnight. Years of hard work, failures, practice and a little bit of luck.
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He finished with 36 Test hundreds, but the first one is always special.
In the 3rd Test against South Africa in Johannesburg in 1997, Dravid took on the likes of Allan Donald and Shaun Pollock and came out on top.
His 148 in 362 balls was an epic knock with 21 fours to his credit. He cut, pulled and drove ?with so much ease that Donald and Pollock were forced to alter their line and length.
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Eventually Donald resorted to verbal volleys, but Dravid stood tall.?
The Wall fell for 148, but not before displaying his class for all to see. It was the first of man hundreds.
India drew the match and lost the series. But for Dravid it was the stepping stone to success that would follow in the years to come.?