India vs New Zealand, 1st Test: Dravid gives Rs 35000 to groundsmen for preparing sporting pitch

The
Indian-born
Ajaz
Patel
and
Rachin
Ravindra
showed
remarkable
resilience
under
fading
light
and
on
a
deteriorating
track
to
defy
India’s
famous
spinners
and
eke
out
a
thrilling
draw
for
New
Zealand
after
an
engrossing
fifth
and
final
day
of
the
opening
Test
here
on
Monday.

“We
would
like
to
make
an
official
announcement.
Mr
Rahul
Dravid
has
paid
Rs
35,000
personally
to
our
groundsmen,”
the
Uttar
Pradesh
Cricket
Association
(UPCA)
announced
in
the
press
box
after
the
game.

During
his
time,
Dravid
was
known
to
play
the
game
fair
and
square
and
things
haven’t
changed
one
bit
even
after
so
many
years.
The
tip
was
a
token
of
appreciation
for
not
dishing
out
an
under-prepared
track
where
the
divot
would
explode
and
the
match
would
end
inside
three
days.

It
was
a
proper
pitch
where
batters
who
have
applied
themselves
got
runs,
such
as
Shreyas
Iyer,
Shubman
Gill,
Tom
Latham
and
Will
Young,
while
pacers
Tim
Southee
and
Kyle
Jamieson
tormented
India’s
top-order
and
the
home
team
tweakers
got
17
wickets.

Dravid’s
appreciation
means
that
the
template
going
forward
would
be
sporting
wickets
with
a
bit
of
everything
rather
than
something
diabolical.