V.V.S. Laxman
The first test match at Mohali turned out to be one of the landmark victories in the History of Indian cricket. The Hyderabadi batsmen set up an unbeaten half century and added a ninth wicket partnership 0f 81 runs along with Ishant Sharma and secured the match for India before the tea break.
India chasing a target of 216 lost all major batsmen with the score 0f 124 for 8India were behind 92 runs when they lost their 8th wicket. . It was then the master class innings of V.V.S. Laxman and a surprise package from Ishant Sharma was displayed. Indian fans including me all lost hopes when the wicket of Harbhajan Singh fell down but two people never had any intention to quit well that’s where the temperament of both Ishant Sharma and V.V.S. Laxman came in. V.V.S Laxman made his intentions very clear that no matter what kind of field is placed for him, he will score boundaries and keep the score board ticking. It was a wonderful moment to see Ishant Sharma joining the party and keeping his cool and facing 92 deliveries for his knock of 32.
With just 11 runs short of wrapping the match he was harshly give out for an LBW but Laxman held his nerve and with support from the number 10 batsmen Pragyan Ojha; India reached the mark with dramatic ending to the match. Ojha survived a close lbw shout in Johnson’s 17th over – with Australia’s woes compounded as Steven Smith’s shy at the stumps went for four overthrows – and a pair of leg-byes then completed a thrilling victory.
The match had some wonderful performance from Indian players with Sachin scoring 98 runs in first innings and Zaheer Khan picking up a total of 8 wickets in the match but the man of the moment was V.V.S. Laxman who sealed the victory for India. The senior protagonists of the field were all in praise for the batsmen Gavaskar declared this victory as one of the biggest victory in India in any kind of Sport. Skipper MS Dhoni’s praise for the elegant Hyderabadi was not surprising. “VVS was really remarkable in this match. He helped the team overcome a batting collapse. It doesn’t really matter what fields you set for him because if he is at the wicket he’ll hit boundaries, rotate strike and keep the scoreboard moving all the time.’’
Laxman was all charged up during the match and we never saw him in such an aggression in any match. He said “I’m just happy winning the match and happier with the character Ishant showed. We all knew he was battling injury. That he took injections to be able to bat showed what he is made of. It also helped that Ojha held his nerve and did not panic.’
It would be very interesting to see the Second test match and see how Australians tries to react after the defeat.
Tags: Australia, Border Gavaskar Trophy, Cricket, India, Indian Sports, Sports, Sports India, Super Hero, Test Cricket, V.V.S. Laxman, VVS Laxman
