#365DaysOfWriting – Day 177
Happy birthday, Vangipurapu Venkata Sai Laxman!
Or as the rest of the world knows him – VVS/Very Very Special.
Hyderabad has produced some of the most stylish batsmen – from ML Jaisimha to Mohd. Azharuddin and VVS – but VVS kept the style in his batting. Unlike Azhar or Jaisimha, there was no ‘swagger’ to the crease, rolling up of the collar or sticking the tongue out. VVS Laxman inherited ONLY the wrist-work, and that probably made him the most endearing of the three. This comes from a former Azharuddin fan – before shit hit the fan with the match-fixing scandal.
Anyway, let those bygones be bygones.
We are here to celebrate a Very Very Special cricketer. And today I shall celebrate 3 of my favourite VVS innings. No, it’s not the 167 at Sydney or the mammoth 281 at Kolkata. Much has been written and said about either innings, and yes, those are masterpieces.
But my favourites are three innings in which he didn’t even touch 100.
69 (127) v Australia, Mumbai 2004
The series was lost. This ‘dead’ rubber was on a lively, raging turner. India all out 104. Australia all out 203 (a MORE than handy lead of 99 given the circumstances). India are 14/2 in the second innings, looking down the barrel (maybe even at an innings defeat). Then comes the partnership of all partnerships. VVS and Sachin showed the world how to play spin on a raging turner. Sachin’s may have been the more cavalier innings, filled with excitement, but one memory I will always have is VVS’ exquisite cover drives AGAINST the turn of Nathan Hauritz. Wristwork and footwork coming together in perfect harmony. That partnership set Australia a target of 106, which they fell short of by 13 runs. The series may have gone, but the memories of this match will remain forever, especially those cover drives…
73* (79) v Australia, Mohali 2010
A chase of 216 against the Aussies on a good Mohali deck, with the batting India had back then, should’ve been routine. But since when has ANY game against the Aussies been ‘routine’? Wickets kept tumbling, and Laxman lost his partner-in-chase, Sachin, leaving the score at 119/6. India lost 2 more for just 5, and the score read an even more precarious 124/8. Match over? No. VVS battled the heat, back spasms, and in the company of Ishant Sharma (who scored a courageous 31, and would’ve remained unbeaten if not for a terrible umpiring decision), to score at almost a-run-a-ball. Ishant fell at 205, and in one of the most endearing displays of anger at a No. 11, VVS Laxman let loose at Pragyan Ojha because he set off for a suicidal run. Eventually, India got over the line by one wicket.
96 (171) v South Africa, Durban 2010
You’ve often heard of the cliche ‘an innings that was worth a 100'. Well, this one was worth 200. After getting a 74-run lead, India were reduced to 4/56 and then 5/93, before Laxman combined with Pujara, Dhoni and Zaheer Khan to push India to 228, and an overall lead of 302, that eventually proved to be 87 runs too much for the Proteas. This match is often remembered for India’s bowling, especially THAT delivery from Sreesanth to Kallis. But it was made possible by that 96 from the Very Very Special man.
