Dravid, not Sachin, is greatest Indian Test batsman

Rahul Dravid beat Sachin Tendulkar to be voted India's greatest Test batsman in the last 50 years in a poll conducted by Wisden India.

'The Wall' won 52 per cent of the votes. Tendulkar had 48 per cent votes in his favour.

Dravid was trailing at 42 per cent on Tuesday morning. The poll results were declared on Tuesday evening.

'Much like Dravid batted during his playing career, he dug in and fought back in the poll, eventually crossing the line with a decent lead at the very end,' Wisden India noted.

11,400 fans took part in the poll for the 'final'.

Wisden India's poll initially pit 16 Indian batting legends against each other.

The list was brought down to four and in the 'semi-final' Dravid saw off Sunil Gavaskar.

Tendulkar comfortably beat Virat Kohli.

In his illustrious international career, Dravid amassed 13,288 runs in 164 Tests and 10,889 runs in 344 ODIs.

Earlier this week, former opener Gautam Gambhir said: 'Dravid is probably the most under-rated cricketer and probably the most under-rated leader as well.'

Last week, in an interview to Rediff.com's Harish Kotian, Irfan Pathan said he enjoyed playing under Dravid's captaincy.

"I really enjoyed playing under Rahul Dravid. He was very clear. I also enjoyed playing under Sourav Ganguly, I enjoyed playing under Anil Kumble as well, but Dravid was very clear. He wanted to make sure that people worked really hard, he wanted the team to grow," Pathan said.

"That is why he left the captaincy as well even after winning the Test series in England in 2007. He was all about the team and the growth of the players in the team, that is why I enjoyed playing under him," Pathan added.

In an interview earlier this year, V V S Laxman said Dravid had come close to Tendulkar due to his 'sheer hardwork'.