India win the Adelaide Test
Infographic: Virat Kohli, milestones and bond with West Indies
Three legends in one frame — Virender Sehwag, VVS Laxman, Harbhajan Singh
ICC World T20 2016: Aaj Tak's Salaam Cricket event
Watching VVS Laxman bat alongside the likes of Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and MS Dhoni was like watching a Rock concert one moment and Beethoven the next. Laxman brought gentleness to his craft; he caressed the ball with velvety wrists that mocked field settings. VVS was a puritan, yet he could be audacious. If Viv Richards bludgeoned balls pitched outside the off stump by imperiously orbiting them over midwicket, VVS used his supple wrists to coax the ball to along the greens in a wide arc between long-leg and long-on.
If Mariah Carey could get her legs insured for $1 billion and Jennifer Lopez insured her posterior for $300 million, then Laxman’s magical wrists was definitely worth a few million dollars. The wrists that created a surreal experience at the batting crease seemed like heirloom, handed over to him by another Hyderabadi artist, Mohammad Azharuddin, almost equally brilliant but certainly not up to his successor’s standards.
Unlike his more glamorous contemporaries, there was never a special sobriquet to anoint Laxman. That was perhaps the tragedy of his cricketing career. If not better, Laxman was as good as Dravid playing under pressure — a master in crisis management. And the tour de force of his career was his 281 against Australia at Kolkata in 2001 when his jugalbandi with Dravid helped India win by 171 runs after following 274 behind.
It’s no secret that the mighty Australians under Steve Waugh and Ricky Ponting feared Laxman more than Tendulkar. That is saying a lot. Laxman had also launched a furious onslaught against the same opposition at SCG a year before the 281, scoring 167 out of a team score of 261; and scored an outrageous 32 at Bloemfontein that John Wright called the best thirty he had seen.
Between 2000 and 2011, Laxman remained extremely consistent, but one poor series in Australia in 2011-12 saw critics baying for his blood. He was selected for the two-Test home series against New Zealand when he called it a day and bypassed the opportunity to say farewell in front his hometown fans in Hyderabad — no doubt saddened by the mounting criticism against his selection.
How will the cricketing world remember Laxman? As Very Very Special, to borrow a quote from Ian Chappell.
H Natarajan
Career | M | In | R | NO | HS | Avg | BF | SR | 100s | 50s | 4s | 6s | Ct | St |
Test | 134 | 225 | 8781 | 34 | 281 | 45.97 | 17785 | 49.37 | 17 | 56 | 1135 | 5 | 135 | 0 |
ODIs | 86 | 83 | 2338 | 7 | 131 | 30.76 | 3282 | 71.23 | 6 | 10 | 222 | 4 | 39 | 0 |
T20s | 0 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | |
World Cup | 0 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Career | M | B | R | W | Avg | EC | SR | 5WI | 10WM | BBI | BBM |
Test | 134 | 324 | 126 | 2 | 63.00 | 2.333 | 162 | 0 | 0 | 1/2 | 1/2 |
ODIs | 86 | 42 | 40 | 0 | -- | 5.714 | -- | 0 | 0 | 0/1 | 0/1 |
T20s | 0 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
World Cup | 0 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | 0/1 |
Test Debut
India v South Africa at Narendra Modi Stadium, Motera, Ahmedabad, November 20, 1996
Last Test
Australia v India at Adelaide Oval, Adelaide, January 24, 2012
ODI Debut
India v Zimbabwe at Barabati Stadium, Cuttack, April 9, 1998
Last ODI
South Africa v India at Centurion Park, Centurion, December 3, 2006
VVS Laxman likely to travel with to Ireland for the T20I series vs Ireland as the coach of India while head coach Rahul Dravid will be ...
'Shocking news to wake up to here in India. Rest in peace my dear friend. Such tragic news'- Laxman on Twitter.
VVS Laxman has advised, Umran Malik, to focus on his game and learn to understand how to stay away from the 'on and off' field distractions.
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Technique may be for old-school or conservative but it always leaves the bowlers with fewer options to get the batter out.
Former COA chief Vinod Rai opened up about a host of issues ahead of the release of his new book, none more pertinent than Virat ...
Both the Indian spinners have done well in the recent past.
Lancashire's three biggest Indian signings were all pretty contrasting.
In his email to the BCCI Ombudsman, Gupta, a life member of the MPCA alleged that Tendulkar and Laxman are in breach of Rule 38 of the ...
Sourav Ganguly, VVS Laxman, Dinesh Mongia and Amit Mishra have all helped India win series.
Chasing a target of 233, Rahul Dravid showed his class and remained unbeaten on 72 to finish of the game by hitting the winning runs as ...
Not since Ian Botham has there been a tormentor of Australians like Laxman, and Sydney was where it all began.
IND 338/7 OVERS: 73.0
Sri Lanka vs Australia - 2nd Test
08 Jul, 2022 10:00 IST | 04:30 GMT
Galle International Stadium, Galle
10 Jul, 2022 15:00 IST | 09:30 GMT
Titwood, Glasgow
11 Jul, 2022 15:00 IST | 09:30 GMT
Cambusdoon New Ground, Ayrshire
13 Jul, 2022 15:00 IST | 09:30 GMT
Titwood, Glasgow
14 Jul, 2022 15:00 IST | 09:30 GMT
Titwood, Glasgow
India beat Ireland by 4 runs
England vs New Zealand - 3rd Test
England beat New Zealand by 7 wickets
India beat Ireland by 7 wickets
Zimbabwe vs Afghanistan - 5th T20I
Match over
Zimbabwe vs Afghanistan - 4th T20I
Match over