Thank you VVS!

From all the cricket I have seen, VVS Laxman is among the most elegant batsman to have graced the game. Mark Waugh is probably the only one I can remember in the same league. The stylish Hyderabadi batsman made batting looking amazingly simple, especially against spin bowlers. His sulken stroke-play has always been immensely enjoyed by cricket fans around the world.

VVS Laxman wasn’t renowned for his foot work, or perfect technique, yet he brought with him a sense of calmness to the field. Unlike a Sehwag, who would make a few Indians nervous with his extravagant strokes, one could depend on VVS. In fact, the only time I can remember him being expressive was this incident with Ojha.

The wristy batsman was incredible when handling a tricky pitch or a pressure situation. A superb 69 in the Mumbai test of 2004, where a target of 107 was not chased down(by Australia) successfully, shows his caliber. The famous 281 is the best example of a magnificent knock under pressure. That knock which lasted more than a day and a half against the best team in the world, is most definitely amongst the top 10 innings in the history of the game.

Of course, there were many other knocks. The 148 in Dravid’s test at Adelaide was huge too. Yet again, the duo of VVS and Dravid were in a 300 plus run stand. It laid foundation for a great win abroad and it was only among the first of many more wins that came later. Two other innings which I shall always remember will be his 96 in South Africa and the stunning 73* in Mohali, both in 2010. Just like his 148 and 281, these two also resulted in Indian victories.

With him not around anymore, India taking on Australia will just not feel the same. Even the bookmakers at bookmakers.co.uk free bets would agree. His performances against them were just phenomenal. Not just did he score six centuries against them, he looked at ease scoring them. The 167 in 2000, 178 in 2003-04 and the double ton in Delhi in 2008 were all chanceless, brilliant knocks.

No tribute to VVS can be complete without mentioning his superb efforts in the 3rd and 4th innings of test matches. World class batsmen have found batting tougher in the last two innings of the test, yet Laxman perfected it. In fact, Peter Roebuck had even written a piece acknowledging how Laxman, like West Indian legend Brian Lara, was spectacular in this aspect. In matches that India have won, VVS has averaged 67 in 3rd and 4th innings combined, while Dravid and Tendulkar averaged 53 each.

Yes, Tendulkar and Dravid scored more runs and were definitely more popular, but VVS was indispensable. Fact is without him, the top two highest scorers of their time would have ended up just playing for an average team. India has been incredibly lucky to have not 1, but 3 great test batsmen during the same era along with Anil Kumble.

2010 was particularly special for VVS Laxman as he notched up close to 1000 runs in 18 innings result in memorable India wins in South Africa, Mohali and Colombo. India’s reign at the top of ICC Test ranking was largely helped by VVS Laxman’s good form. In fact, in 20 months of India’s #1 ranking, he averaged 56, lot more than his career average.

The fact that Laxman refused a grand farewell at his home ground to do the right thing, only increased my respect for him. Many will try to capture Laxman’s legacy in words, incidences, innings, test wins or some brilliant moment in Indian cricket history. But, it is beyond all this and I sign off with some wonderful tweets/thoughts on the modern day legend:

Today tells me, 1 billion Indians believe in Laxman more than Ram Lalla. And I mean Indians, no Hindus, Muslims whatever. Aastha hai, bhai.
-Venkat Ananth(tweeting after Laxman won us the Mohali test, within days of the Ayodhya controversy)

You’re the angel we all strive to be.
-Murali Kartik

This should not be a time for people, especially Indians, to feel let down that they are not going to see their hero play anymore. Instead it should be a celebration of what he has given people through his cricket.
-Brett Lee

Laxman was tough, but he wasn’t obsessed with the notion of showing the bowler who was boss.
-Suresh Menon

From carrying his innings to carrying himself, VVS has shown immense class. Will miss you Laxman bhai.
-Suresh Raina

Hashim Amla – Brilliant at one drop

Number 3 is one hell of a job in test cricket. Batting at number 3 needs the not only good technique but temperament to fight it out when the going gets tough. All teams that have performed well in recent past, have had a consistent solid number 3. India’s emergence as a good test team abroad under Sourav Ganguly was largely helped by Rahul Dravid’s fabulous run. Ricky Ponting’s consistency was key to Australia being on top for a while. Needless to talk about the legendary Sir Don Bradman, who even in the infamous bodyline series managed to score at 60 runs per innings. Continue reading »

Test cricket and what can help!

Test cricket, the oldest form of the game was first played in the 1840’s while the first official international test match was between England and Australia in 1877. More than 134 years since, the sport has seen a lot of progress and change. Changes like commercialization, rise of ODI cricket along with T20 cricket have changed the dynamics of the sport.

Test cricket has stood tall amongst all this transition, but in the last 5 years or so, number of people going to stadiums to watch tests has continuously gone down. Of course, people in huge numbers watch the game over the television or the internet, but interest in the game is declining. A number of reasons are responsible for the same, many of which are not impossible to deal with. Let’s look at some of them.  Continue reading »