Test cricket at its best. Nobody was prepared for such a thriller. Not even those who have been raised on the classics between these two prized opponents of the last decade. Mohali doesn’t suffer in comparison with the Eden Gardens and Adelaide wins, where India defied extreme odds.
Interestingly, in both those wins too, VVS Laxman was magical. Now, after Mohali, he is a colossus. Injury made him just a number in the batting line-up in the first innings. In the second, he needed the crutches of a runner.
Yet, his will prevailed. Rarely has a non-century been as invaluable as Laxman’s 73 on Tuesday.And all this due to the generosity of a man who isn’t viewed as fair by most Indian fans. Ricky Ponting was judged as inflammatory in Sydney. He wasn’t seen as courteous in getting the then BCCI chief down the podium after the Champions Trophy triumph in 2006.
In Mohali, though, he allowed Laxman with a runner in both the innings. He had made a public pledge to restore game’s dignity after the unsavoury episodes of recent times. The Australian skipper was as good as his word.Ishant Sharma was no less heroic. Like Laxman, he too wasn’t in the best of health in the first innings. But he returned to put the skids under Australia in the second innings. Australia would long wonder how India escaped the noose after being 124 for eight.
Still, this game was there for the taking for the Indians. Some smart work in the field wouldn’t have allowed Australia to top the 400-run mark. While poised for a lead, the hosts actually ended up 23 runs behind the visitors.The bowlers again got them in front before the top-order crashed to leave their hopes hanging by a thread.
This thread was all Laxman needed to do his Houdini act.Luck too teased in the closing seconds when Pragyan Ojha could have been leg before wicket or run-out off the same ball. But Gods weren’t willing to come between a ‘Very Special Man’ and his extraordinary task. Zaheer Khan was adjudged the best from the match. And rightly so. Without him, this would have been a no-contest. The majority, though, must be with the genial Hyderabadi. Fellow mates could have their awards while Laxman chooses to be the toast of the nation for the moment.
The Mohali thriller has only further emphasised why India-Australia cricket gets top billing.
Source: Deccanherald.com
Sachin Tendulkar