News about Rahul Dravid

LAWRENCE BOOTH IN MULTAN: With 12 minutes to go before lunch on the third day of the first Test, Joe Root punched Aamer Jamal down the ground - and knew the record was his. As ball hit boundary, Root was crowned England's greatest Test run-scorer of all time, passing Alastair Cook's tally of 12,472, and leaving only Sachin Tendulkar, Ricky Ponting, Jacques Kallis and Rahul Dravid ahead. Even in Multan's cauldron, he was breathing rarefied air. Root's celebrations were muted, partly because that's his way, partly because the heat had all but sapped him of the strength to raise his bat.

TOP SPIN: Remember the date: Monday, September 30 could be the day cricket changed for ever. All it took was 34.4 overs on the fourth afternoon of the second Test at Kanpur, in which time India scored 285 for nine against Bangladesh, unleashing the full shock and awe of their batting arsenal. At 8.22 runs an over, it was Test cricket's quickest innings (minimum: 50 balls), and comes as England fly to Pakistan - the scene, two years ago, of their own epoch-defining 506 for four on the first day of the series at Rawalpindi. The runs that day came at a rate of 6.75, which England upped to 7.36 in their second innings as the Bazball revolution achieved its first overseas scalp. Afterwards, we could hardly move at the back of the media centre for all the England batsmen signing their name on the honours board.

Ponting, who coaches the Delhi Capitals in the Indian Premier League, said he was asked about taking over as Indian coach with the job advertised by the BCCI with Rahul Dravid's contract expiring at the end of the T20 World Cup next month. But the weight of the job, and the timing, made it easy to refuse.

PAUL's newman in VISAKHAPATNAM: Brendon McCullum evoked the spirit of the time he kept Dan Carter out of the South Island Schools rugby team as he wondered what was to come for England next week. When discussing England's return to Abu Dhabi for an eight-day break before the third Test, the England coach and former fly half said, 'There will not be a whole lot of preparation.' The boys have had a long training session and two separate Tests.' "This is a chance to take a break from the heat of war and enjoy our families.' I talked to Rahul Dravid (India coach) about this and he said his players are going home.

PAUL NEWMAN IN HYDERABAD: "This is certainly the first victory since I've been captain," Stokes said after a fourth day of thrilling first Test drama at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium, which ended with just four balls of the extra half-hour remaining. We've had some amazing victories, but it's difficult to imagine where we were and who we were facing, 1-0 up is a strange feeling.' Even after losing three specialist spinners, two of whom were inexperienced in Tom Hartley and Rehan Ahmed appeared to backfire, Stokes insisted England never stopped believing.

Fast starts, keeping India's spinners quiet, runs on the board and picking the right team! Those are the keys to touring success, as told to Mail Sport by England's heroes of 2012, when the last Test team to beat mighty India on their own turf.

In recent Tests, the Aussie opener has struggled terribly against England, and India coach Rahul Dravid hasn't been unnoticed (pictured, inset), who is also suspicious of his ability to score runs quickly. Warner's last match against India in February was dismal, as he struggled with the bat before being sent home injured.

Ian Healy, a great cricketer, has launched an scathing lawsuit against Indian cricket authorities for reportedly encouraging pitch curators in Nagpur to interfere with Australia's plans to perform at VCA Stadium. The Aussies' chances of winning their first series in India in 19 years got off to a rocky start last week, when they were thrashed by an innings and 132 runs after slumping to their lowest ever total figure in the region. With the Test finishing within three days, Australia was allowed to practice on a day four surface.

In India, travel agencies are used to receiving turning wickets, but curators' tactics in the run-up to the Border-Gavaskar series opener have been unusual. Ground workers were on the VCA Stadium pitch for hours on Tuesday, employing some bizarre tactics as soon as the Australians left the field after their training session.