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New Delhi : If Australia have prepared a hit-list for the Test series in India, Rahul Dravid's name is bound to figure at the top because of his ability to win matches from hopeless situations.

No Indian batsman, including Sachin Tendulkar, has troubled Australia in recent years as much as Dravid who has been on a roll since making a century against Steve Waugh's team at Calcutta in 2001.

Even Dravid's rivals did not begrudge him being named 'Player of the Year' and 'Test Player of the Year' by a panel of experts in London earlier this month.

Dravid was in awesome form last season upstaging even Tendulkar with his consistency and ability to deliver under pressure. He earned the nickname 'The Wall' for his impregnable defence and impeccable temperament.

He began the previous season on a whirlwind note, hammering a double-century against New Zealand in the opening Test at Ahmedabad before blooming in Waugh's farewell series in Australia.

Dravid was unstoppable Down Under, smashing a double-century in Adelaide to set up his team's rare away Test victory. His 303-run stand with Venkatsai Laxman revived nightmarish memories for Australia.

The same pair had put on 376 in the second Test at Calcutta in 2001 to script their team's victory after being forced to follow on. To Australia's misfortune, Dravid was again among runs against them last season when he amassed 619 in four matches.

India drew the four-Test series 1-1, thanks to Dravid's sparkling performance.

Dravid continued in the same vein when India toured Pakistan for a historic three-Test series in March-April. With the series tied at 1-1, India rode on Dravid's double-century in the third and final match at Rawalpindi to post an innings victory for their maiden Test series triumph in Pakistan.

Dravid was now no longer 'one of the stars' in the strong batting line-up, but 'the superstar'. He has changed as a batsman of late, playing strokes with more freedom but without forgetting the virtues of patience.

He is more domineering and lapses in concentration remain few and far between. Dravid will be the key batsman when Australia make an attempt to win their first Test series in India in 35 years. He lends immense solidity to the middle order, judiciously mixing attack with defence.

India are no longer a one-batsman team, thanks to the recent exploits of Dravid, Laxman, Sourav Ganguly and Virender Sehwag. They have eased the pressure on Tendulkar, the mainstay of Indian batting for nearly a decade.

If it was Tendulkar who posed the biggest threat to Australia in the 1998 home Test series, it is expected to be Dravid this time round.

Australia open their Indian tour with a three-day match against national champions Mumbai at the Brabourne stadium here on Thursday. The first Test opens in Bangalore on October 6 and will be followed by Madras, Nagpur and Bombay.