2001: India’s cricket odyssey
Twenty years ago on this day, VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid wrote a new chapter in Indian cricket. Laxman looks back on the Test that gave Indian cricket the belief that anything is possible
ada! Shochin out hoyni toh? (Brother, I hope Sachin is not out?)” Every Kolkata policeman on gate duty at Eden Gardens in the ’90s has had to field this question. Back then, watching Test cricket at Eden without missing work was an art practised by many babus from government offices nearby. If Sachin Tendulkar was scheduled to bat, membership passes to that game might change hands three times, as people went in shifts, then returned to their desks. But March 14, 2001, was different. It was special. Very, very special.
“I remember, when Sachin and Sourav [Ganguly] got out on the third evening, 90% of the fans left,” says VVS Laxman, speaking over the phone, recalling the beginnings of what would turn into an unforgettable, history-making game. “But by lunch on the fourth day, the ground was packed. It was great to see them coming back.”
They had to. How could they not? No one on that day needed to ask the Sachin question. It had become irrelevant, as a stupendous, magical uprising unfolded at Eden — Laxman and Rahul Dravid batting through all of the fourth day, putting together a mammoth 376 for the fifth wicket after India had followed on against a bowling attack comprising Glenn McGrath, Jason Gillespie, Michael Kasprowicz and Shane Warne.
If India are now on top of the Test world rankings, a team celebrated for both rolling over the opposition and wresting wins even with their backs to the wall, the seeds of that ability were sown on that day, 20 years ago. The LaxmanDravid storm propelled India to an incredulous 383-run lead before Harbhajan Singh spun out Steve Waugh’s Australia for 212.
It was only the third time in the history of Tests that a team won after following on. It also stalled the mighty Australian team that came into the match with a record 16 wins on the trot, leaving their dream of conquering the “final frontier” — a phrase used by Waugh to describe beating India in India — in tatters.
The team was back on its feet after being shaken by match-fixing allegations. Eden regained its happy space, three months after Mohammad Azharuddin’s life ban desecrated the special bond the player and venue shared (it was here, after all, that he scored five centuries in seven Tests). India won the next Test, in Chennai, to win the series. The turnaround was complete.
Here, finally, was an Indian Test unit capable of winning anywhere; and they did — in Australia, Pakistan, England, New Zealand and South Africa, over the next few years.
At the forefront of Eden, taking fresh guard was Laxman — 6 ft of Hyderabadi class with a gingerly gait, a turned-up collar and sinewy wrists that could punch the same ball through covers or whip it towards midwicket . (Laxman’s love affair with Eden lasted 10 Tests, spawning 1,217 runs at an average of 110.63 with one double century, four centuries and three half-centuries in 15 innings).
At his best, Laxman was a godly sight, his silken touch commanding an unbelievable array of strokes. And yet, that is only Laxman the batsman’s second-best quality. Top of the heap is the grit he showed during crises, shepherding lowerorder batsmen in difficult chases, as at the WACA stadium in Australia in 2008, when Laxman walked in after India had lost half their side for just 125. He was the last man out, but not before he had taken India to an imposing 294 with a controlled 79.
Eden in 2001 was tougher on many counts when you consider that Laxman had to step out on three consecutive mornings in three different scenarios. “When you are in that kind of a situation you don’t really think about the past or the future,” Laxman told HT earlier this week. “You focus on the task at hand, give each ball due worth as if your life is dependent on it. Your mind is fresh and it reflects in the way your body reacts. Your instincts are quicker. You don’t feel tired. You want to do something special for your team and country.”
On the morning of the third day, India’s first innings resumed at 128/8, trailing Australia by 317. Laxman was on 26 and Venkatapathy Raju on 3. Raju was gone second over. That was Laxman’s cue to change gears. “Steve Waugh had all the fielders back but the way I was timing the ball, I was scoring boundaries. I wasn’t thinking about my wicket,” he says.
Laxman first punched McGrath through the covers, before pulling Gillespie through midwicket for another boundary. For the first second or so, the cameras struggled to trace the boundary Laxman hit through covers to bring up his 50 as three Australians manning the infield stood defeated. He nearly took out the cameraman standing beside the sightscreen with a lofted shot over Warne’s head.
“The way I hit three or four boundaries off Warne, it gave me a lot of confidence. He was bowling really well and I was using my feet and playing against the turn,” Laxman says.
Warne had the last laugh on the day, getting Laxman to poke at a delivery pitching wide outside his leg stump. Laxman got another chance though, sooner than he expected.
INATNO3
As a deflated India geared for the follow-on innings, Laxman was asked to keep his pads on. He was to bat at No 3 instead of Dravid.
Did that come as a surprise? “Yes. Rahul was the vice-captain and had done well at No 3. But I was happy that the coach and the captain decided to promote me. I always enjoyed batting at this position. Prior to the Australia series and even in the Duleep trophy, I used to bat at 3. Whenever Rahul and I would play for South Zone, I used to bat at 3 and Rahul at 4,” Laxman says.
Barring two big hundreds against Zimbabwe, Dravid hadn’t scored a 50 since October 1999. But the demotion must have pricked Dravid’s pride. He chose the best way to register his protest, by essaying a stellar supporting act. United at the fall of the fourth wicket, with India still needing 53 to
Not often had the mighty Australian bowlers faced this kind of partnership... they did everything to break it.
make Australia bat again, the two began their historic journey together.
“I told myself that the work is not done,” says Laxman. “Even though I got a half-century in the first innings and a hundred on Day 3, I told myself that we were way behind as far as the match was concerned. Rahul and I had a chat about seeing through the second new ball due on the morning of the fourth day. We told each other — ‘Let’s bat the whole day’.”
The whole day: 624 deliveries spread over the last hour of Day 3, the whole of March 14 and five overs into the final morning. Try to slip into Laxman’s shoes for a moment. Think of finishing Day 3 unbeaten on 109 and then telling yourself that you must bat a whole day to dig the team out of a hole; that your job wasn’t done, it was just beginning.
“When you cross 100, very rarely can bowlers dominate,” Laxman says. “You dictate the terms. More often than not, you lose (your) wicket because of a loss of concentration.”
Laxman and Dravid walked out on the morning of Day 4 intent on seeing their plan through. Australia took the new ball after five overs. There were some early hiccups — McGrath got the toe end of Laxman’s bat; Gillespie induced an inside edge. Then Laxman began cutting loose. With a boundary past point, he wiped off the first-innings deficit before getting down to working the gaps.
The mélange of shots over the next six hours was breath-taking — Dravid complimenting Laxman’s sumptuous drives with his square cuts; Laxman threading gaps with surgical precision; Dravid presenting the full face of his bat in forward defence; Laxman whipping Warne against the turn; Dravid playing Kasprowicz as late as possible to negate any possibility of reverse swing. Everything that could be done with a cricket bat was being done. Choreographing the resistance was a friendship that didn’t need much work. A mere glance and they knew if there was a run worth taking. “With Rahul there was familiarity. We played a lot of junior and domestic cricket,” Laxman says.
HE’S STILL BATTING
“Chinta nei, Lokkhon akhono bat korche. (No worries, Laxman’s still batting).”
Just the friendly reassurance you need from the policeman sitting on his Enfield in front of Gostho Pal’s statue. Day 4, post-lunch.
Inside, all was right with the world. Laxman was still dispatching boundaries, Dravid still being the perfect foil, blocking out bowlers when not punching deliveries on the up.
“The best part of playing against Australia was that Steve Waugh had an aggressive field setting,” Laxman says. “They were always looking to take wickets. We got value for our shots. Even though we reached the milestones, we never got elated. At the end of the fourth day, there was a smile on Rahul’s face as we achieved the target we set for ourselves. I will never ever forget that.”
By the time Laxman reached his double hundred, Australia looked haggard. “Not very often had the mighty Australian bowlers faced this kind of partnership... they did everything possible to break our partnership. They tried various lines and lengths,” Laxman says.
Nine bowlers had a go at Laxman and Dravid that day. Steve Waugh spared just Adam Gilchrist and himself. No one was more expensive than Warne. Amid the array of strokes used to take the world’s greatest spinner apart was an audacious shot — Laxman skipping down the crease to a delivery pitched well outside leg and hitting him inside out through cover.
“I will give credit to my seniors in Hyderabad — (Venkatapathy) Raju and Kanwaljit Singh, both quality spinners, for this shot. Whenever Raju used to bowl in the rough over the wicket, I used to have two options, one through on side and one through off side. The important thing was I used to reach the pitch of the ball. That is why I could play Warne.”
Playing along the ground was the hallmark of Laxman’s innings. By the time he reached his double hundred, he had hit a total of 35 boundaries, no six. When he was dismissed on 281, then the highest score by an Indian, he had hit 44 boundaries; still no six.
“I never had the ability to hit sixes. Right from childhood I was taught to play along the ground. The moment you are close to the ball, very rarely will you get the elevation to hit a six. I didn’t bother with it,” he says.
By tea, Dravid was battling cramps and Laxman, a bad back. “There were times, especially post-tea, when we were sort of losing our focus and concentration. (But) it was the most satisfying session of the day. We kept egging each other on. The bigger picture was more important than the pain,” Laxman says.
Tortured to the edge of breakdown, Australia tried everything: Gillespie ran in spread-eagled, got wedged past point. Matthew Hayden was summoned, only to be dispatched by Laxman. Mark Waugh tried to stem the onslaught, Laxman rubbed it in by bunting full tosses through — where else — the covers.
With the shadows growing longer across Eden’s turf, the umpires finally called stumps. In the dressing room, saline drips and massage tables had been readied for Dravid and Laxman, who had physically wrung themselves dry.
The entire Indian contingent was on out the lawn as Dravid flashed a weary smile and hugged Laxman. Then they marched out of the ground together to deafening applause and into the golden twilight.