India won the first test against Australia in a match that saw fortunes swinging wildly from one extreme to other. That I am writing this blog and am obviously so happy is only because of this guy who is often called Very Very Special Laxman.
People keep saying that this match is special because it was a great exhibition of cricket for a format which is battling competition from its younger siblings- T20 and ODIs but I would say it was special because it made people realise that you cannot expect to play and win against Australia without this man.
Now that India has won, there are plenty of things to write about- India’s rightful claim to the #1 Test team spot, another failure for Ponting to win a series in India, India’s much improved bowling attack or Laxman’s continued brilliance against the Aussies. However keeping in consideration the paucity of time and also in an attempt to keep the length of this article reasonable, I will only write about the first and the last issues.
So guys, India have not lost any Test series under the leadership of MS Dhoni during a period spanning almost 2 years. They may not have won many but they have not lost any either. During this course of time, they beat NZ in NZ and SL in India. They drew with SA in India and came from behind to draw with SL in SL. While the performances do not look very impressive, they are not mediocre by any standards as well. If SA is considered to be a worthy challenger to Indian team, they would not have lost to India by an innings in Kolkata or for that matter to Aussies in their own den in 2009. Lankans have big mouths and they kept saying a couple of months back that SL is a far better team than India but let them first win a test in India and then I may think of reading their columns in Punjab Kesri (or do they don’t even get to write in Punjab Kesri ? J). England is a pretty solid team at the moment and it would be very interesting when India tour England in the summer of 2011. But otherwise, England have won Ashes and they beat Pakistan in their homeland. No huge or consistent overseas success again. Australia lost to India in 2008 and have not performed consistently against the supposedly stronger teams like SA or England (they even managed to lose the Ashes) so it is pointless to even think about them. Worst, they drew with Pakistan in EnglandJ.
So if a team is considered great simply because they do very well on their home turfs and they do moderately well when they tour other countries, then it is indeed a matter of pride for the ICC rankings that India have very gracefully ascended to the top spot.
And regardless of our hatred against the Aussies, I must really appreciate Ricky Ponting’s honest admission of the fact that they fought and tried hard but they lost to a very good #1 team.
Coming back to this fascinating match, India may have emerged as winners in the end but it was just sooooo close. Aussies started quite solidly on Day 1 and despite the loss of Simon Katich quite early in their first innings, Watson and Ponting did quite well to make sure that they get an early advantage. However, a flash of brilliance from Suresh Raina got rid of Ponting, and that gave a tiny opening to India. Now the plan was to dig a tunnel out of this tiny opening and India did manage to do that to an extent as Australia lost Hussey, Clarke and North by the end of Day 1 to finsh at 224/5, a rather precarious position. The standout performer of day for India was no doubt Zaheer Khan but a disciplined effort from Ojha is something that deserves appreciation as well. Ishant Sharma was easily the disappointment of the day while Bhajji was OK, at the most. For Australia, the star performer was Shane Watson who made the most of the dropped catch and went on to make a century.
Australia started Day 2 with caution but their plan was not to give wickets and try to maximize their first innings score. Watson got out on 126 but very useful contributions from Paine (who narrowly missed a century), Johnson (who looks to me as the new Irfan Pathan- started as a strike bowler and then turned into a batsman) and even Hilfenhaus saw them make 428 in their first essay. Zaheer managed a fiver and it is always good to see an Indian pacer taking a five-for on pitches which are supposed to be tailor made for spinners.
India started their first innings in a very aggressive manner and Sehwag never allowed any bowler to settle. While it made for fascinating viewing especially if you are an Indian supporter, it did not really look like test cricket, to be honest. Sehwag made the likes of Hilfenhaus and Bollinger look quite ordinary as he scored boundaries at will. It was only when Johnson got into attack and got rid of Gambhir (I somehow see his hunger for runs diminishing, though I wish I am wrong) and Sehwag that Australia made their way back into the game. India ended the day at 110/2 and it was pretty much even-stevens at that point.
Day 3 was quite an anti-climax actually. India batted really well to stitch partnerships and kept the score card moving but wickets kept falling just at the wrong time for India. Dravid fell at 77, Sachin went for 98 while Raina made 86. However none of them went on to complete their respective centuries and a lower order collapse saw India fold up for 403, conceding a narrow 23 run lead at the end of Day 3.
Australia started Day 4 on an aggressive note as the hero of first innings- Watson took the attack to bowlers and Australia looked like going for some quick runs in an effort to push for a result. However that is when Ishant made a genuine effort to make his presence felt in the match. India hit back through Ishant as he pocketed the vital wickets of Watson, Ponting and Clarke. After that it was pretty much a case of surviving a fourth day pitch and battling the pressure that Indian bowlers created. Australian batsmen succumbed to the same and were all-out for 192. Now this is what I would call a total team effort on the bowling front. Ishant started the slide, the spinners Bhajji and Ojha got rid of the middle order and Zaheer came back to clean up the tail. I don’t think any captain in the world could ask for something more.
India started chasing a pretty gettable target of 216 on fourth day itself. Since I did not see the match live, I do not exactly know how it happened but India lost 4 wickets by the end of play. How someone like Hilfenhaus who looked pretty ordinary in the first essay became so unplayable suddenly is still a mystery to me. Gambhir got out to a shocker of a decision while Dravid, Sehwag and Raina just did not last long. India finished Day 4 at 55/4 and it looked quite a stiff task from there on.
Whed Day 5 began; all eyes were on Sachin to see if he could come up with something special and silence all the critics. He started quite well and even though India lost the nightwatchman Zaheer Khan, an injured Laxman and Sachin batted wonderfully well for a while. That was perhaps the only period in the day when India looked like taking control of the proceedings. However, Sachin departed a bit later as he tried a rather too ambitious shot. India also lost Dhoni (I do not remember when was the last time he played a really meaningful innings in a test match) and Bhajji (he needs to realise that if he stays on the crease for a while and makes some runs, he can get much more endorsements. It is only in his interests that he takes his batting a bit more seriously) and with the score reading 124/8, things did not look too great. However Ishant Sharma saw this opportunity to redeem himself and made a determined effort to stay at the crease. The duo had a wonderful partnership worth 81 runs and it was really heartening the way both of them got about their business. While Laxman looked showed tremendous faith in Ishant Sharma and did not hesitate to give him strike, Ishant was upto the task as well. He got beaten often (like any other tailender) but most importantly he put a price on his wicket. And little did anyone know at that point that Aussies will have to pay such a heavy price for the same. Laxman batted with supreme authority, pulling anything short with disdain but also driving through the cover region when the ball was full. He was well supported by Ishant who hung on only to frustrate the Aussie bowlers.
Ishant eventually got out to an umpiring blunder but the complexion of the game had changed by then. Ojha survived a very close LBW appeal (another umpiring blunder) but somehow managed to steer India to safety in the end. India won by 1 wicket to seal another famous win against the mighty Aussies. Like a lot of other victories which have come against Aussies in this decade, VVS Laxman continued to be the architect-in-chief for India and wrecker-in-chief for the Aussies. Ponting was candid enough to admit that his worst fears have come true as Laxman snatched victory from the jaws of the defeat for India. The Hyderabadi Nawab had done it again for India.
So guys while you celebrate the famous Indian victory do not forget to salute the efforts of VVS Laxman. While he may lag behind the likes of Sachin (in sheer number of runs), Sehwag (in terms of attractive strokeplay) or Dravid (in terms of resolute defence), he is an icon and a jewel in India’s crown. Long live Laxman.
Wishing you many more appearances and many more centuries for India.
Scorecard for the match available at: http://tinyurl.com/28oq2q9
Courtesy: Cricinfo
