Friday, October 08, 2010

Legend called Laxman

I love watching cricket matches only in my casual pastime and with the unending controversy over match-fixing my interest in the sport has waned further. However, I enjoyed Team India’s thrilling victory over the formidable Aussies at Mohali recently.

The twists and turns throughout the match and India’s poor show reminded me of a car driving on a bumpy road and sometimes a boat sailing smoothly in a calm sea. The match ended with the Indian team beating their fierce rivals in an unusual display of courage to fight back. VVS Laxman- the stylish stroke-maker, who made possible what looked “impossible”, once again proved that he is India’s man at the moment.

It’s not that Laxman has become important all of a sudden only after this match. He is a valuable player and has been instrumental in Team India’s victory in crucial matches in past, especially in fourth innings chases.

However, this time by steering his side to a remarkable victory despite all odds, Laxman has proved that he truly is indispensable and of the same stature as Dravid, Ganguly or even Tendulkar in the longer version of the sport.

At Mohali, he came to the crease at a time when all big names had fallen. He kept the strike rotating on his own although wickets tumbled at the other end. With brilliant support from tail-ender Ishant Sharma, Laxman not only battled severe back-pain but also single-handedly enabled his side to register a spectacular one-wicket Test victory over Australia.

When many of us doubted India’s prospect of winning against a team like Australia, it was Laxman, who kept alive our hopes that victory can still be ours even if the scorecard read 124/8 and predicted a different story.

Read more >>

No comments: