The Laxman rekha holds back the marauding Aussies

The Laxman rekha holds back the marauding Aussies
Sandeep Dwivedi

Kolkata, March 13: Please hold back that hideous chuckle of national self-loathing for a day. Obit writers can put that acid pen down for now.

Salutations are due for VVS Laxman, don’t spoil his party by talking about the depression surrounding him. His fluent hundred on Day Three of the second Test is a case study which just gives conclusive evidence of the incompetence of his batting mates on the dead Eden Gardens track.

Other than the humiliating exposure of his colleagues, Laxman’s unbeaten 109 saw India taking the match to Day Four. And in such times, it is these little things which become reason enough for an Indian fan to celebrate. After the inevitable follow-on was enforced, India finished the day at 254 for four, still needing 20 runs to make Australia bat again. Giving Laxman company at stumps in the climb to Mount Everest was Rahul Dravid (7).

Critics have said Laxman swims when the water is neck-deep and the ship has already sunk. His first Test ton at Sydney this January against the Aussies, too, came about when the result was a foregone conclusion. And here, too, a similarity in the scenario is stark. But discussions about sinking ships and Laxman’s fight for a losing cause will have to be put on hold till tomorrow. The matter of discussion should be what he did today.

The day started with Raju confirming his non-utility to the team. Out in the second over, Laxman tried to restore matters in company of last man Prasad. But Shane Warne’s constant leg-stump attack saw him glowing to the slips. The brief but confident morning walk, which Laxman took in the first session, was an indicator of the long marathon he ran later in the day as the stand-in, one-drop batsmen in the second innings proved.

Playing some fluent drives and finding gaps with the precision of a surgeon, Laxman was focused on the job at hand rather than contemplating on the problems to follow. The final session of the day had the crowd in frenzy as Indian skipper Saurav Ganguly too joined the fun with a fine 48. His dismissal in the final moments of the day’s play disappointed the crowd but then that’s nothing new. Others in the top order, too, had disheartened them far more.

If Ramesh was at Las Vegas today, he would have become a millionaire. But he happened to be at the Eden Gardens and he just got a mere 30. With the selectors axe hanging on his head, Ramesh had in him the desperation of a compulsive gambler placing his last bet.

His chronic lower-abdomen paralysis was, of course, on view but those away-from-the-body flashes remained far too exaggerated today.

That meant snicks flew like butterflies over the slips with ‘helpless’ writ large on the fielders’ faces and frustration on bowlers. The misfortune of these near misses was maximum for Jason Gillespie, who bowled an inspired first spell on uninspiring track.

And, for the first time in the series, the Aussie pacers went wicketless in their first spell and skipper Steve Waugh had to turn to his other mate Shane Warne. A sharp reflex catch inches above the ground by Mark Waugh ended Ramesh’s stay in the middle for the day, putting a question mark over his stay in the Indian team.

Lady luck’s tiff with Gillespie ended after lunch, as the unlucky Aussie bowler stuck a purple patch. SS Das, who is nice to eyes, somehow does not last long so that one can savour his niceties. After confident stay of more than two hours, a freak accident ended another Das sortie. As his heel touched the stumps while working a ball from legs, saw a bail fall gingerly. It does not need a referendum to prove that Sachin Tendulkar tops the popularity charts at the Eden Gardens. On doubt about that, Saurav Ganguly and Steve Waugh can fight for the second spot. But somehow, the man many consider the God of cricket, has played like mortals at the sanctum sanctorum of Indian cricket. Sachin, who has never scored a century here, was once gain out in a fashion which made him look like just another Indian batsman.

Of the Aussie bowlers on show today, Gillespie bowled his heart out on the dead track. Beating batsmen countless number of times, he epitomised the never-say-die Aussie trait. Besides the aching limbs, he would have exhausted his eye-lids at the end of day. The endless stares he gave the batsmen after beating them would make him see an eye specialist.

So, it is safe to say that India has at least avoided an innings defeat, thanks to Laxman. As of tomorrow, well we are not talking about that.

Eden Test: Scoreboard (3rd day)
Australlia (1st innings): 445
India (1st innings, overnight 128/8)
VVS Laxman c Hayden b Warne 59
V Raju lbw McGrath 4
V Prasad not out 7
Extras: (lb-2, nb-12) 14
Total: (All out in 58.1 overs) 171
Fall of wickets: 1-0, 2-34, 3-48, 4-88, 5-88, 6-92, 7-97, 8-113, 9-129
Bowling: Glenn McGrath 14-8-18-4, Jason Gillespie 11-0-47-2, Michael Kasprowicz 13-2-39-2, Shane Warne 20.1-3-65-2
India (2nd innings)
SS Das hit wkt b Gillespie 39
S Ramesh c M Waugh b Warne 30
VVS Laxman batting 109
S Tendulkar c Gilchrist b Gillespie 10
S Ganguly c Gilchrist b McGrath 48
R Dravid batting 7
Extras: (lb-3, nb-6, w-2) 11
Total: (For 4 wkts, in 75 overs) 254
Fall of wickets: 1-52, 2-97, 3-115, 4-232
Bowling: McGrath 18-7-43-1, Gillespie 17-4-62-2, Warne 20-2-87-1, M Waugh 8-1-25-0, Kasprowicz 12-5-34-0