One Test match which will never be forgotten is the iconic Test match between India and Australia played at Eden Gardens in 2001 Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
That game made VVS Laxman an immortal name in Indian cricket, thanks to his innings of 281 runs and him batting a whole day along with Rahul Dravid, who scored 180, to turn the tables on Australians.
India was knocked down by Aussies as they were asked to follow on. India was trailing by 222 runs after the first innings which made the whole country hopeless. But no one knew Laxman is going to restore the faith again in the team. He played innings of his life and which not only helped India recover after a poor first innings show but also gave India an edge over Australia in the game.
Laxman and Rahul went on to add 376 runs in India's total. Their partnership lasted for 105 overs. It was a marathon batting by both the batsman which stunned the Aussies. The Hyderabad batsman revealed in his book that he wasn't fully fit to play that game but still continued.
Speaking about the knock in an interaction with Lounge, he said, "The situation we were in, to go out and play in the manner that I did, and the way the team won the match, I think that was a very important and memorable Test match for all of us. I stuck to the basics and played my natural game, played with a lot of freedom. I was not thinking about the past or the future, all I was trying to do was be in the moment and play to the merit of the ball. I capitalized on the loose deliveries, respected the good deliveries, but played each and every ball as if it was the last ball I was going to face. When you think about the process rather than focusing on the outcome, the outcome will take care of itself.
"What I and the team learned from that match was to never give up. In cricket, as in life, you face a lot of adversity and challenging situations, but all you have to do is to trust yourself, believe in your abilities and keep fighting. Because you don’t know when the tide will turn. From that time onwards, we as a team felt that irrespective of whether the opposition has a strong hold on the match, till the last run is scored or the last wicket is taken, never ever give up. And that is something that I will very fondly remember."
When asked if he has any regret of missing out a triple ton, Laxman said, "Would I have been happy to get a 300? Of course. But the way I approached that innings—and a lot of other innings in my career—was that the team came ahead of my personal aspiration. It was very clear that on the fifth day we would only play for 1 hour and then declare so the bowlers have enough time to pick up Australian wickets. As you’d expect, the Australian bowlers were bowling wide outside the off stump with a defensive field, because they wanted to delay my 300 and with that the declaration. In trying to force the pace and get runs, I got out. But I don’t at all regret the way I got out because I was trying to play to the situation and fulfill the expectations from the team. I’m very happy that the 281 enabled the team to win the game, and that is very satisfying for me."
Laxman has always been a good batsman with a tail. His famous innings against Australia at Mohali is still fresh in memories.
Talking about his ability to bat with the tail, he said, "I’m very proud of my performance as a number 6 batsman batting with the tail. In that situation, invariably the opposition captain would spread the field and try to give me a single so his bowlers could bowl to the tail-enders and get their wickets. So I had to develop a strategy to maximize my performances with the tail. I was lucky that we had bowlers who took a lot of pride in their batting, were always keen on working on their batting and there was a rapid improvement in their performance. I gave them a lot of confidence, not just in words but also in action. So I gave them the strike whenever a run was available, that’s how I showed trust in their ability to bat. Communication is also very important. I’d ask them to tell me which bowlers they weren’t comfortable with and I’d try to face that bowler as much as possible."
Is Test cricket's future dark? Laxman thinks not as players give more value to the longest format. "T20 will stay, and the shortest version of the game will be very popular. Because what T20 and IPL have done is brought in a lot of new fans to the game. People who may not be purists, but treat cricket as entertainment. But the longer version of the game still has its fans, and more importantly, the players give a lot of value to Test cricket. Because I think the players and fans know that Test cricket is real cricket, where you’re tested in every aspect—your mind, your skill, your endurance. And as long as that’s true, I think Test cricket won’t be threatened," he said.
ICC World Cup 2019 is not too far and Laxman shared the tag of favorites among England and India.
"Along with England, they start as the favorites to win the tournament. They’ve got the balance, they’ve got the experience and they’ve got the class to go on and win. There are one or two issues that still need to be addressed, especially the role of an all-rounder and the bench strength in the pace bowling department, but I’m sure the selectors and the team management are working on that," he said.
