Hamilton, March 19: Rahul Dravid has batted for over a decade and scored tons of runs in cricket but the Indian derives equal pleasure out of plucking catches.

"Taking catches has sort of given me probably as much pleasure as scoring runs has. Being part of someone else’s success as a catcher, that has been a thrilling experience," Dravid said in reference to his equalling Mark Waugh’s record for the most number of catches — 181 — in Test cricket.

He acknowledged the bowlers for the feat as well. "To have taken so many catches is also to me a reflection of the quality of attack that I have been lucky to have played with in all these 12-13 years that I have played for India. I have been lucky to have played with some very good bowlers that created the opportunities and gave me and Sachin and Laxman in the slips the opportunity to take more than 100-plus catches.

"You look at Srinath and Zaheer and Venky (Venkatesh Prasad), so many of them, Anil and Harbhajan, the number of catches that I have taken off them. I have been lucky, I have blessed that I have played in a team that has had such good bowlers over the last decade or so," Dravid said.

Asked to recall his best catch, Dravid said: "It’s hard to call. You look at these catches and you think of them in terms of the context of the game and how they helped the team win. I took Damien Martyn in the Adelaide Test off Sachin’s bowling and we went on to win the match. It was a critical phase; Sachin got the wickets of Martyn and Waugh and I caught them both. I took Martyn at slip, it was an important one, one that I valued and cherished.

"Another one off Mark Waugh at backward short-leg in the Chennai Test of that great series in 2001 off Harbhajan’s bowling. Mark Waugh was batting 50-60 and we couldn’t give them a big lead. It was a sharp chance to my right. These two are the ones that probably stand out in my memory."

Having played so much, what kept him going? "I just love the game, truly love the game. I have always played this game since I was a young kid, I have loved batting, I have loved being part of victories and making contributions to wins.

"I think that sort of gives me the challenge now — it’s not really the number of runs I score now, centuries I score now. It’s really about if I can make a contribution to a winning team in Test matches in India and abroad, I think that is what gives me satisfaction. I love the ebbs and flows of the game, I love what it has taught me over the years and love what it is teaching me even today," Dravid said.