VVS Laxman
VVS Laxman somehow seems to reserve his best for Australia. Fighting a stiff neck, back spasms and fever, he was the star in India’s remarkable run chase as they scripted yet another historic victory against Australia in the Border Gavaskar Trophy.
At the start of day 5, the game was evenly poised with both teams in with a chance for a victory. India needed 161 more runs while the Aussies needed 6 wickets. But at the end of the first 17 overs of the day, there was only team that could win. After Australia had picked up the wicket of night watchman Zaheer Khan, Sachin Tendulkar and Laxman put on a quick stand of 43. But then Australia got rid of Sachin, Dhoni and Harbhajan Singh in quick succession. India needed 92 more runs to win when Ishant Sharma came into bat. It only looked like a matter of time before Australia would complete the formalities.
But Laxman and Ishant had other ideas. The tall lanky pacer hung around stubbornly as he played the perfect foil for Laxman. The stylish Hyderabadi batsman, playing with a bye runner, showed no signs of his sore back as he played elegantly as ever. Once Ishant was unfortunately adjudged leg before wicket with 11 runs to get, Laxman took the match into his own hands. He guarded the No. 11 batsman Pragyan Ojha by farming the strike and made sure he got India across the finish line.
Laxman’s innings was one of the calmest and composed innings you will ever see a batsman play under pressure. The only time he lost his cool was when Ojha didn’t respond to a single of the 5th ball of an over when he wanted to keep the strike going into the next over. In the end, had it not been for the numerous singles he didn’t take so that he could keep the strike, he would have finished with a strike rate of over 100. Also Laxman showing great confidence in Ishant Sharma deserves a special mention as he rotated strike usually taking singles very early in the over. The fact that Ishant played 92 of the 130 balls in the partnership shows Laxman’s confidence in the lower order batsman. But it was Laxman who stayed till the end and continued being a nightmare for the Aussies.
Two days back, the headlines in the newspaper would have read, ‘Laxman’s back.’ But it definitely would now have changed to ‘Laxman is back.’
Tags: Australia, Border Gavaskar Trophy, Cricket, India, Indian Sports, Sachin Tendulkar, Sports, Sports India, Test Cricket, VVS Laxman, Zaheer Khan
