Laxman goes a notch above Gavaskar, carves out a niche
Sandeep Dwivedi

Kolkata, March 14: Collective shaking of heads, open mouth astonishment, rubbing of eyes in disbelief. These are the mannerisms across the country today. Be it a political watcher, confused by the hidden camera expose, or the pleasantly surprised Indian cricket fan tuned in to the Eden Gardens at Kolkata.

The Indian cricket followers, who were feeling pinched till yesterday, now were seen pinching themselves. Is this a dream? Are they the same guys? These are the questions asked after VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid’s historic histrionics for India on Day Four of the second Test.

Laxman’s 275, made him India’s highest individual scorer in Tests and Dravid’s 154 helped the duo compile a record-breaking partnership of 357 runs.This magic run making meant India finished the day with a monstrous 589 for four and their lead over Australia was a threatening 315.

In the recent memory cricket has not seen such a remarkable change in fortunes. Without losing a single wicket and scoring 335 runs meant the 80,000-strong crowd had not a dull moment while the 16-Test winning Australia had not a single pleasant memory.

But perspective can play strange tricks. The obnoxious Indian batting display in the recent past and the invincibility of the Aussies suddenly seem like immature conclusions. The engraving of the epitaph has stopped. Not just that India is alive at the Eden Gardens but even the Aussies have started getting “death threats”.The vital thing according to Laxman at the end of the third day was surviving the first hour on Day Four. And the play not just went according to script but there were some imaginative on-stage improvisations too. After the trailer on Tuesday, Laxman’s performance did not exactly make the eyebrows arch but Dravid’s was a revelation today.

Yes, we saw it, his feet were moving against Shane Warne and he even smacked three fours in his first over. Keeping ill-health before the Test, the new-look Dravid made the Aussies sick of him by the end of the day.

Eden Gardens seems to be the venue where emotions run high and passion are on high pitch. As if to prove a point his aggressive punch in the air after completing his ton seemed to be directed at those who have questioned his potential in the recent past.

Laxman, on the other hand, was in a zone. Playing his strokes that seemed to have been measured with the aid of geometry box, his bisection of the cover area had an amazing accuracy and still retained the casualness of a skillful artist. After conquering peaks after peaks the Hyderabadi still retained his grace till stumps.

As for the Aussies, it was the first day that their ice-vest and cold-bath experiments were put to the real test. And it seems the results were not much to write home about. As their frontline pacers Glenn McGrath, Jason Gillespie and Michael Kasprowicz for the first time in the series faced the heat, their body took the toll and it manifested in their bowling.

Ricky Ponting, Michael Slater, Justin Langer and Mathew Hayden were deputised as crisis managers but that just showed captain Steve Waugh’s desperation.

The Indomitable Aussies are realising why their captain called this their biggest Test ever. With India leading by 315, Saurav Ganguly suddenly finds himself in charge.

But the dilemma now is, will India bat for long to spoil the Aussie party or will they declare early to have a party of their own? Many say that the Eden Gardens Tests read like a classic. But as Laxman and Dravid penned the penultimate chapter, it seems more like an unputdownable thriller.

Scoreboard (4th day)
Australlia (1st innings) 445
India (1st innings) 171
India (2nd innings, overnight 254/4)
VVS Laxman batting 275
R Dravid batting 155
Extras: (b-6, lb-12, nb-12, w-2) 32
Total: (For 4 wkts) 589
Fall of wickets: 1-52, 2-97, 3-115, 4-232
Bowling: McGrath 33-12-81-1, Gillespie 31-6-115-2, Warne 34-3-152-1, M Waugh 18-1-58-0, Kasprowicz 28-6-93-0, Ponting 12-1-41-0, Hayden 6-0-24-0, Slater 2-1-4-0, Langer 1-0-3-0

Copyright © 2001 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.