Where to now RD?

India's unexpected victory in the third test was crafted by a sublime innings from VVS. VVS is the kind of player you pay money to watch and when in form it is difficult to think of a more attractive batsman in world cricket. Amidst all the jubilation of this rather unexpected win, it is important not to lose sight of the bigger picture. There are still a number of questions that hover over this side, and India still remain some way away from being a world beater.

One of those questions is the form of Rahul Dravid. Dravid over the years has undoubtedly set in stone his place as one of India's all time greats. Many of India's greatest triumphs (Headingly, Adelaide, Rawalpindi, Jamaica) were due to fantastic knocks by India's Mr. Dependable. Even in Perth, where India pulled of a stunning win after being two down in a controversial series, it was Dravid who top scored despite looking a shade uncomfortable. His value to the side has never been in question - until now that is.

Judging someone of Dravid's caliber after one or two failures is ludicrous. The fact is though that over the last 2-3 years, Dravid has looked increasingly uncomfortable. Consistency has always been Dravid's calling card - that very consistency seems to have deserted him. There has still been the odd good knock - but they are becoming fewer and further in between.

The form of the other members of the middle order has increased the pressure on Dravid. Tendulkar has scored 5 hundreds in 7 tests since the start of this year and Laxman averages nearly 90 in 2010. The selectors will certainly want to give Dravid as many opportunities as possible for him to find form. However, how much is too much?

India play Australia next - an opponent against whom Dravid played arguably his greatest ever innings. The last time Australia came to India, 2 years ago, Dravid had a torrid time. Another poor series, and time may well and truly be out. The whole of India will be hoping that Dravid manages to recover from the current slump ASAP. A tour to South Africa awaits at the end of the year - and the prospect of somebody else striding out at no:3 certainly makes me jittery.