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Think V.V.S. Laxman, and the archetypal fig that springs to caput is 281. There is much to the classy Hyderabadi than that epochal fig — arsenic evidenced by the rubric of his autobiography, 281 and Beyond — but Laxman’s vocation volition everlastingly beryllium defined by 281.
After all, it was that sound which changed the scenery of Indian cricket, possibly adjacent of Test cricket. It came against each odds; Australia were sitting connected a 16-Test winning streak, had battered India into submission wrong 3 days successful the opening crippled of a three-match bid successful Mumbai conscionable 10 days previously, and had understandably enforced the follow-on successful the 2nd Test aft starring by 274 successful the archetypal innings.
Understandably, due to the fact that successful 3 erstwhile completed innings successful the series, India’s scores were 176, 219 and 171. For Steve Waugh to judge that 274 was acold excessively galore successful the slope wasn’t fanciful; his ace bowling portion had taken lone 58.1 overs, dispersed implicit an overnight break, to tally done India successful their archetypal dig, truthful it made consciousness to onslaught erstwhile the robust was hot.
But what’s it they accidental astir the champion laid plans of men and mice? Despite an improved batting show successful their 2nd innings, India were inactive successful occupation astatine 115 for three, Sachin Tendulkar dismissed for a 2nd people of 10 successful the match, erstwhile skipper Sourav Ganguly walked successful astatine No. 5. Normally, helium would person punched gloves with Rahul Dravid, his deputy. Instead, successful what turned retired to beryllium a masterstroke, the antheral who greeted him successful the mediate was Laxman, promoted to No. 3 aft his first-innings 59, the lone people of much than 25 successful India’s 171.
Even erstwhile Ganguly helped Laxman adhd 117 for the 4th wicket, Australia were successful control; astatine the captain’s dismissal, India were 42 abbreviated of making the Aussies bat again. Laxman and Dravid, possibly hurting wrong astatine being demoted but ne'er complaining due to the fact that helium was the eventual squad man, represented the past specializer pair. One much strike, and Australia were into Nayan Mongia and past the bowlers.
That 1 much strike, past volition testify, was 376 runs and 104.1 overs successful coming. Laxman and Dravid, who had had galore expansive alliances for South Zone successful home cricket, reprised the jugalbandi astatine the grandest signifier of all, batting done the full 4th time unseparated. When Laxman was yet dismissed connected time five, helium had overhauled Sunil Gavaskar’s 236 not retired to nutrient India’s highest idiosyncratic Test score. Dravid’s masterpiece ended connected 180, Ganguly declared astatine 657 for seven, and Harbhajan Singh and Tendulkar combined to nonstop the visitors packing for 212. India had someway pulled disconnected a miracle, winning by 171 runs to quadrate the bid and going connected to implicit a fairytale bid triumph with a tense triumph successful the decider successful Chennai.
An epic
That epic 2nd Test successful 2001, betwixt March 11 and 15, unfolded astatine the theatre of dreams – and sometimes nightmares, excessively – that is Kolkata’s Eden Gardens. On time 1 of the game, Harbhajan became the archetypal Indian to instrumentality a Test hat-trick. On time four, Laxman went past Gavaskar’s 236*. And connected time five, India rewrote past by becoming lone the 3rd squad to triumph a Test aft being forced to follow-on.
Laxman, Dravid and Harbhajan played respective different Tests astatine the Eden and enjoyed stellar successes, but not against Australia for the remainder of their careers adjacent though the Aussies toured India successful 2004, 2008 and 2010 erstwhile the trio was inactive active. Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma and R. Ashwin, each retired from Test cricket, didn’t play Australia astatine the Eden astatine all. And now, it looks arsenic if Jasprit Bumrah, acknowledged arsenic the top all-format bowler of surely his and perchance immoderate generation, volition articulation that elite list.
Welcome to the strange, quirky, predictably predictable satellite of Indian cricket. Eden Gardens is successful bully company, let’s not forget. One of Laxman’s little celebrated but nary little magical knocks came astatine Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium, besides against Australia, successful November 2004. It was the past lucifer of a four-fixture faceoff; India trailed 0-2, having surrendered a Test bid astatine location to the Antipodeans for the archetypal clip successful much than 3 decades. Despite Shane Warne sitting retired the ‘dead rubber’ connected a minefield, they were rolled implicit for 104, to which the Aussies replied with 203. A 99-run pb connected a aboveground of that quality was axenic golden but Laxman and Tendulkar enactment connected their dancing shoes, producing a veritable feast during which they made it look arsenic if they were batting connected a shirtfront.
During a third-wicket confederation of 91, they drove Ricky Ponting ragged. Tendulkar weighed successful with 55 of the precise best, Laxman was subliminally superb during his 69. Even though Michael Clarke (6/9) sparked a spectacular illness of six for 23, India defended 107 with tigerish zeal, Harbhajan and Murali Kartik bowling them to a 13-run triumph with 5 for 29. Oh, what drama.
The 171-run heist successful 2001 remains the past clip India took connected Australia astatine the Eden; the teams haven’t besides met each different successful a Test astatine the Wankhede since the 13-run jailbreak successful 2004. So overmuch for the value of history, of celebrating ‘traditional’ centres, of doing everything to support Test cricket ‘alive and vibrant’, arsenic the Board of Control for Cricket successful India loves to constituent retired clip and again.
That it’s not capable to simply supply articulator work to maintaining the primacy of the five-day crippled has ne'er been much evident successful the past fewer days, since the venues for the five-Test location bid for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy opening adjacent January were announced. This is the archetypal clip since 1979-80 that the Aussies volition beryllium playing astatine slightest 5 Tests successful India; of the one-time marquee Test centres, lone Chennai’s M.A. Chidambaram Stadium has been considered worthy of staging a lucifer of this import and pedigree. The others bestowed the privilege of playing big are Nagpur, Ranchi, Guwahati and Ahmedabad.
In the past fewer years, ever since the sprawling Narendra Modi Stadium replaced the aged Sardar Patel Stadium successful Motera successful 2021, Ahmedabad has go a near-permanent halt successful each big-ticket series/competitions. It’s hosted respective Tests, among them against England and Australia, and it was wherever the last of the 50-over World Cup successful 2023 and the T20 World Cup earlier this period were conducted. One tin recognize the tendency to instrumentality World Cup and IPL finals to a crushed that tin location betwixt 103,000 and 125,000 fans – depending connected who 1 talks to – but whether its vastness unsocial is capable for Test matches to repeatedly beryllium held determination is different substance altogether.
New entrant
Now, jostling for pre-eminence is the Assam Cricket Association Stadium successful Guwahati, which past November became India’s 30th Test venue. By nary agelong of the imaginativeness is Guwahati a ‘traditional’ cricketing centre. There is simply a immense clamour for white-ball fireworks, similar it is successful respective non-Tier 1 cricketing venues successful the country, but the patronage for the inaugural Test astatine the ground, against precocious crowned World Test champions South Africa, was worse than disappointing. For Guwahati to beryllium fixed the accidental to clasp different Test against 1 of the apical teams successful the satellite is simply a monolithic surprise, but lone erstwhile you disregard the information that the existent caput of the BCCI hails from that portion of the country. Power centres successful sports associations volition inevitably displacement and beryllium redefined, but should staging centres travel suit depending connected who occupies the corridors of power? What happened to the acclaimed rotation argumentation aimed astatine equitable organisation of matches crossed the magnitude and the breadth of the country? Given India’s size, the immense gross generated by the BCCI and the organisation of overmuch of that gross to its subordinate associations to amended cricketing infrastructure, among different things, India boast a plethora of world-class stadiums. The rotation strategy was introduced to guarantee that everyone got their just stock of matches but present it’s a strategy that exists either lone connected insubstantial oregon successful one’s imaginativeness due to the fact that clearly, successful reality, it has been fixed the heave-ho.
Audiences for Test matches person been dwindling successful India for a portion now, which makes it imperative for those entrusted with deciding which matches are played wherever to fig retired which are the centres wherever determination is inactive a request for the red-ball format. There are capable limited-overs internationals – meaningful oregon different – to beryllium distributed to the others. It is indispensable that Test cricket isn’t dispersed bladed by doling retired its staging rights to each and sundry. How volition Shubman Gill and Bumrah, Steve Smith and Pat Cummins, beryllium energised by having to play high-stakes, high-profile Tests successful beforehand of little than 5,000 spectators, respective of whom person been ferried done inducements alternatively than retired of a large emotion for the game? Are we truthful caught up successful the crippled of one-upmanship that the existent crippled becomes a casualty?
There is overmuch to commend the BCCI for. The fig of matches it conducts annually – and seamlessly – crossed genders and property groups is staggering. It hasn’t been miserly with its immense coffers, taking attraction of not conscionable its members (vote banks, if you like, though developments implicit the past decennary person precluded the request for elections successful caller AGMs) but besides of the players – some planetary and domestic. It hasn’t been truthful blinded by the lure of the lucre that it has neglected the grassroots. It’s recognition to the governing assemblage successful the state that it has managed to pull and clasp the involvement of respective legends, including Ravi Shastri, Dravid and Laxman, among others, successful coaching and administrative roles with an oculus connected some the contiguous and the future.
For each its committedness to the athletics and its practitioners, it has inactive been a brushed people for galore with an axe to grind. But it indispensable besides admit that 1 mustn’t conscionable beryllium just but indispensable besides beryllium seen to beryllium fair. And surely, determination isn’t a batch just successful cricket-crazy fans successful Kolkata and Mumbai waiting 25 and 22 years respectively, unsuccessfully, to invited an India vs Australia Test match?
