That old is expression, however was no joke when Rahul Dravid went in to bat on the first day of the first Test against New Zealand at Ahmedabad on Thursday. He surely must have told himself "whatever happens, just don't get out." The way he batted, the survival instinct appeared to rise above all his classic qualities as a batsman.

Conscious of his poor show in the previous two Test matches against Australia, Dravid was desperate to play a substantial innings. He remained scoreless for long stretches. He was stuck on 12 for 32 balls and after lunch he scored a mere five runs off 43 balls. This continual defensive prod forward and scoring a run every five or six balls was all for the sake of survival. Why did he have to do it? There was no crisis and Sehwag, at the other end, was toying with the weak Kiwi attack.

He was pushed toward that attitude by the emerging young batsmen who are now breathing down the backs of established players. There are three outstanding ones in Murali Vijay, Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli, who have grabbed their opportunities by the forelock to now pose a serious threat for a place in the playing eleven. More good talent is in the pipeline.

Dravid had to get a big knock going for him and score a century he did. But he ate away a lot of balls and denied Sehwag the strike for long periods. Once he got ensconced, he tried to open out. So, the presence of younger men in excellent form is putting the stalwarts on the alert that they not only need to display their best form, but also prime fitness. Their big reputation cannot condone failures on both these counts. Yuvraj Singh is still smarting under its effect, with Suresh Raina having grabbed his place in the Test team.

This embarrassment of riches is good for the Indian team. Complacency has long gone out of the window. Now the concentration is on current form rather than on past record. One hopes the national selectors will work the same magic with the bowling department. This is one aspect of the team that needs a lot to be done still.