He scored his third century of the series on Day 4 of the fourth Test - thereby ensuring that India lived to fight another day - and did it under the most trying of circumstances. He had been pushed into the opener's slot because of Gautam Gambhir's concussion and for the whole of the Indian innings, he appeared to be playing on a different surface than the one other batsmen were playing on. The England bowlers always had the chance of a wicket at the other end, but when Dravid was batting, he looked immovable.
In the end, he had to stop batting only because he ran out of partners. He had carried his bat through for 146 not out in a team total of 300 all out, and in a gesture that was almost as incredible as his batting, he was back in the middle to open the innings once again after England enforced the follow-on. His second innings didn't last as long, with a contentious decision being the only way to remove him, but with 461 runs in the series (more than double that of any other Indian batsman) he had shouldered his share of burden and then some.
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