Very Very Special
Despite popularity of its siblings, test cricket retains its charm and admirers, notes RITAM MITRA.
India retained the Border-Gavaskar trophy in stunning fashion this week, clinching a match that will go down as one of the most memorable Test matches in history. Each twist and turn over the five days was met with palpitations from not only the fans, but the players as well. It would have been near impossible to script such a match, and even more difficult to truly decide the deserved winner. Perhaps it is fitting, then, that it was a substitute fielder who delivered the crucial blow; Steven Smith threw the fateful ball that whistled past the stumps and handed India four priceless runs just when it seemed as though they would fall short.
The match brought to the fore an array of talent and saw several milestones being reached – Shane Watson became only the third Australian after Damien Martyn and Allan Border to score a century and a half-century in the same match in the subcontinent. Young wicketkeeper Tim Paine did not let the absence of Brad Haddin be felt, with a valiant half-century and tidy work behind the stumps. Simon Katich and Michael Hussey both reached 4000 test runs, both in their 53rd match. Tendulkar was once again dismissed in the 90s, but not before delighting the unfortunately sparse crowd with some trademark punchy strokes. Zaheer Khan reached his 250th test wicket, reminding everyone just why he is such a potent spearhead for the Indian attack, taking 8 wickets including a fantastic spell of reverse-swing bowling late on Day 1 which sparked the match to life.
However, amongst all the individual contributions in the match, it was one very very special talent that transformed the match into a true epic. V.V.S. Laxman strode out to the crease with a runner, after batting at number 10 in the first innings courtesy of a back injury he’d sustained in the field. In the middle of a collapse, things were looking grim for India and it seemed as though Australia would run away with a Test win. Beware the wounded batsman!
Australia are no stranger to Laxman’s prodigious second innings efforts – the mere mention of the word Kolkata will send shivers up any cricket fan’s spine. It is one thing to save a match in the third innings as Laxman did back in 2001 at Eden Gardens, but it is another thing altogether to actually carry your team over the victory line in the fourth innings. Laxman now has an average over 50 in the second innings; as a rough comparison, opening tyrant Virender Sehwag averages just over 30.
To properly sum up Laxman’s achievements in this match, it’s important to take note of the situation through which India emerged victorious: Ben Hilfenhaus along with Doug Bollinger were running rampage with the ball, swinging the ball enough to have even Tendulkar playing-and-missing on a regular basis. The disappointing Mohali crowd seemed to have lost their voices already by the time Tendulkar was dismissed, and it was even more silent when Ishant Sharma emerged with the team in dire straits. Laxman himself was batting with a runner, which anyone will tell you is an absolute nightmare – just ask Dhoni who failed to heed a call from Suresh Raina and turned an easy single into an instant catastrophe.
While all this was going on, however, Laxman seemed to be playing in a different match altogether. It is often noted that Laxman might have succeeded to a far greater extent at Number 3 – he scores his runs very quickly, but at Number 6 he is often left to bat with the tail, or score quick runs when the team is pushing for a declaration. As Dhoni himself pointed out after the match, Laxman is “one of those players that, wherever you put the field, he will still get runs and rotate the strike and keep the scoreboard ticking over”. This match was no exception – Laxman raced to 50 at a run a ball and returned the pressure right back to the relentless Australians.
There was a lot more asked of Laxman than just batting, however. Shepherding the tail has to be one of the hardest jobs in a batsman’s career – in order to keep the strike, Laxman was so confident in his ability to see the match through that he repeatedly rejected singles even when the team needed just 10 runs to win. His calm presence at the crease undoubtedly allowed Ishant Sharma to play out almost 100 testing Australian deliveries in the same manner, in a partnership that saw India go from being 8-127 to within 10 runs of the 216 runs set for them. Laxman is never one to show emotion, but his ferocious calling and serious blasting of Pragyan Ojha when the tailender was dawdling outside his crease showed how much this victory meant to him. Laxman screamed in delight when the last ball was clipped away for two leg-byes, and it was very refreshing to see such an important part of India’s truly great battling line-up of this decade still so passionate about the team’s fortunes.
India’s batting order is far and away the most revered in Test cricket, but one batsman that always seems to slip under the radar commands more respect. V.V.S. Laxman is neither flashy nor quick; but the style and elegance with which he approaches his cricket is a truly precious cricketing treasure. If there was one batsman you would want at the crease when you need a miracle, you’d be hard-pressed to find a better man for the job.
