India face Australia in the third Test at Mohali tomorrow, the same ground and opponents where Indian legend Laxman dragged his side to victory in 2010.
Former India batsman VVS Laxman will join a host of ex-Test cricket legends in the commentary box on Thursday when India take on Australia in the third Test of the series.
Yet Laxman can look back on this fixture with fond memories, as in October 2010 the stylish right-hander took the game to the Aussies and grabbed an unlikely Indian victory.
With his side starting poorly Laxman walked to the crease with India on 76-5. After a decent partnership with Sachin Tendulkar, the “Little Master” was dismissed and the score soon became 126-8 after both MS Dhoni and Harbhajan singh were out in quick succession.
With Laxman the only recognised batsman in India’s attack and the side chasing 216, it seemed impossible for the home team to win.
The odds were already stacked against India but also it transpired that Laxman was suffering with a back injury – a problem which had prevented him from fielding in the last innings and pushed him further down the batting order for this innings.
However, with all hopes resting on the batsman he battled through the pain to claim a memorable Indian victory. He and Ishant Sharma put on 81 runs for the ninth wicket before Ishant was dismissed but Laxman and spin bowler Pragjan Ojha managed to bat out an unlikely win.
Laxman’s finished with an unbeaten 73, but the score didn’t do justice to how influential the great batsman was at overcoming Australia. The achievement was made even more impressive considering Laxman had completed a similar feat against Sri Lanka just two months earlier – when he scored 103 not-out.
“When the moment came, it was unbelievable,” Laxman told the Deccan Herald when recounting the events in Mohali.
“As my team-mates hugged me I just kept saying ‘what a great match!'”
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