Whistling his way to stardom, the VVS way

Whistling his way to stardom, the VVS way
Sandeep Dwivedi

Kolkata, March 14: A story goes that while India was chasing that record score of 300-plus at Dhaka against Pakistan, VVS Laxman, among the reserves then, sat near the ropes whistling. But jump to any conclusion, this is a story of some cold aloofness of a man on the bench with no care about his mates battling in the middle. Players, critics and the old-hand cricket watchers vouch for Laxman’s team spirit but that’s how the 26-year-old has been dealing with pressures. Whistling his way through the times of trouble is the Hyderabadi style of dealing with pressure.

At the Eden Gardens, one does not have those snoopy microphone which could have caught Laxman’s whistles. But the 80,000-strong crowd must have their ears ringing by those whistling covering drives that made Laxman break Sunil Gavaskar’s almost two decade-old record for the highest individual score in a Test match. That famous 236 against the West Indies during the 1983-84 series at Chennai has come down one rung.

And listen to this, Laxman also equalled the late Sir Don Bradman’s record of 44 fours in an innings which is on the second best in Tests. Though history does not record the extent of elation by any achiever on a cricket field, Laxman’s celebration might have been rated among the less modest ones. As if unknown about the enormity of the moment despite the deafening cheers of the knowledgeable Kolkata crowd, Laxman just waved his bat to his mates in the dressing room, the fans in the galleries and then just casually put his head down to take guard for the next ball.

Of his achievement, he was quite forthcoming. After the match he said, “Though I have broken Sunil Gavaskar’s record, I can’t match his stature in the game.”But that’s how he is. Not making a big fuss about himself but damn serious about the job at hand. Moreover, for the man who scores runs by truckloads in domestic competition, well in a way that figure of 275 on scoreboard is not a rare sight. The highest run-getter in the domestic circuit just some months back had scored 320. But he did say it was hugely satisfying knock and he looked forward to 300.

Laxman today has been like a bull in a China shop. Besides sitting on top of the pile of India’s great individual achievers, he also broke the highest individual total at the Eden Gardens, compiling a record fifth-wicket stand with Rahul Dravid.

These, mind you, are just a few of the changes to be made in ecords books. The statisticians, it seems, will have to buy a new eraser for tomorrow.

Stroking in a way reminiscent of his statemate and former India skipper Mohammad Azharuddin, Laxman with his graceful cover drive has demystified the Australians. And the latest sensation of Indian cricket too has confirmed the fact.

As I have interacted with Azhar for long, the influence is of course there, he says. Ian Chappell changed his nomenclature to Very Very Special (VVS) Laxman after seeing his unbeaten 109 yesterday. After today’s performance probably Laxman needs to add a few more V’s to his name.