"KEEP your pads on!" Four words from coach John Wright that changed the face of Indian cricket as V. V. S. Laxman, dutifully serving the side and the coach, crafted a sensational comeback. Four words that gave a team a new image and propelled the career of a batsman who had promised but not delivered until that monumental performance at Kolkata.
It was quite an event. The fruits of success at the Eden Gardens tasted so sweet and Indian cricket celebrated the heady mix for quite some time. It was one of the greatest Test matches of all and it was also one of the greatest Test series of all.
India and Australia, V. V. S. Laxman and Harbhajan Singh, Steve Waugh and Sourav Ganguly, Matthew Hayden and Adam Gilchrist, had created such a grand symphony of quality cricket that it was difficult to pick characters for special mention. After all, it took players from both the camps to carry the game to such lofty heights, justifying the hype that preceded the series. It was simply amazing.
After the first tied Test between Australia and the West Indies, this was easily one contest which shall remain immortal. It brought the best out of two teams so fiercely engaged in giving a new dimension to competitive cricket and one could safely conclude that the series did go a long way in reviving the interest of the layman and the connoisseur in the longer version of the game. Limited overs cricket may have provided excitement but the aesthetic value of the game lay in Test cricket.
The Australians had arrived with a great reputation and the Indians rose to the challenge. The defeat at Mumbai shook the Indian camp as it lost in three days. The gloom was understandable as Ganguly and his men seemed to have lost their direction despite conditions being favourable to them.
We were promised positive cricket by both the camps and that is what we got to see through the Test series, an epic in every aspect of the game. If India won it 2-1, the credit lay with Harbhajan, Laxman and Rahul Dravid, who fashioned a stirring comeback on the fourth day of the Test at Kolkata. It was a deed which belonged to the realms of fantasy really as they batted the entire day and then left the stage for Harbhajan to exploit. The Aussies simply did not know what hit them as they went down in a heap, triggering off wild celebrations in the City of Joy, the reverberations of which could have been felt in Sydney and Melbourne too.
On the face of it, Australia should have won in a canter as India struggled to avoid the follow-on. The third day concluded with the home team facing defeat. None backed the team except one man - former Test left-arm spinner Maninder Singh and now a noted television commentator.
On the third evening, Maninder spoke of a revival, provided Laxman batted at number three and the next morning, I remember vividly, he committed himself during the pitch report that there could be a possibility of a great Test match. Tony Greig asked Maninder if he saw light at the end of the tunnel. "Yes," hoped Maninder, "if Laxman plays a very special innings."
Laxman played precisely the innings that Maninder had visualised. It was a very, very special innings indeed; an innings which put the humble Hyderabadi in an elite group; an innings which evoked lavish praise from every former Test cricketer and none was happier than Sunil Gavaskar, who lost no time in reaching Laxman on phone to convey his greetings. It was a great day for world cricket.
As Laxman returned to the dressing room on the third day, with Australia asking India to follow-on, Wright told him to keep the pads on. Laxman was to bat at number three, just the position he had been aspiring to bat at. By compiling 281 in that knock, Laxman erased Gavaskar's 236, the highest individual Test score by an Indian till then. But his contribution was much more than the double century. During the course of the innings, Laxman raised visions of a miracle, which was ultimately achieved by Harbhajan, who mesmerised the Australians on a responsive pitch.
If Dravid remained an unsung hero in this episode, he did not mind. He too had a personal agenda for the match and he made no secret of it when he gestured at the commentator's box on reaching his century. It was his pent up wrath finding some way to express the man's anguish at being pilloried by every Tom, Dick and Harry. In that one critical moment, Dravid brought the team together on one platform and the support for each other came from all quarters. "I was not wanting to make any point. It was just an emotional response," remarked Dravid but the message to some of the critics was quite clear.
The series changed its course dramatically that day. It demonstrated to the world that the Aussies, after all, were not unbeatable and the Indians possessed the potential to prove it. The Australians, McGrath and Warne to be precise, went wicketless the entire day and India rediscovered its confidence the next morning. The declaration came at an appropriate time and Harbhajan now took over to leave the opposition in a disarray. Expecting the game to end in a draw, some people had left the stadium only to curse themselves. They had missed one experience, one spectacle they would have been thrilled to share with their grandchildren. For those present at the Eden Gardens, it was a lifetime occasion to rejoice as Indian cricket regained some glory by winning that Test. It was a great privilege as some of us shared the victory with the team.
The Aussies may have been formidable on the first three days but the gifted Indians pulled off an unprecedented coup to carry the fight into the third Test at Chennai. The battle for honours was now poised for a fairytale finish and once again Harbhajan scripted a grand victory. And so fittingly, it was Harbhajan who hit the winning run amidst gripping tension. Come to think of it, Harbhajan may not even had made it to the side but for Ganguly demanding the Punjab off-spinner's inclusion.
"Victory for cricket," exclaimed old cricketers. They were reliving some outstanding contests from the past - the two tied Tests of 'Gabba and Chepauk; the drama of Headingley when Ian Botham and Bob Willis laid the Aussies low; and many more exciting encounters. But this Test was special.
What a series it was! It included everything that is good in cricket. The authoritative batsmanship of Hayden and the attacking instincts of Gilchrist that left the Indian attack so demoralised at Mumbai; the poetry in Laxman's knock at Kolkata and the fierce determination of Dravid and nothing to match Harbhajan's brilliance, his 32 scalps a telling statement on his matchwinning abilities. It was a class act by Harbhajan. For a 21-year-old, he bowled with amazing maturity, associated with veterans. And mind you, India was making its mark without Anil Kumble, its architect of many great victories in the last decade.
The Australians were not good losers as their unbeaten run of Test victories came to an halt at Kolkata. The slanging match between two international captains, Steve Waugh and Ganguly, who was unfairly painted a villain by the visiting media, left a bad taste. The Aussies also did not distinguish themselves with some poor behaviour on the field which shockingly did not attract the attention of match referee Cammie Smith, the most inconsistent member of the panel.
Laxman and Harbhajan dominated the series and their colossal contribution deserved to be recorded in golden letters. Indian cricket was going through a turbulent period and the wins at Kolkata and Chennai saw the home team breathe easy. Not many had given India a chance for two reasons - the Australians were formidable and the home team was suffering from acute loss of self confidence.
Critics had sharpened their knives and the pressure was clearly on Wright and Ganguly. Motivation level was very low when Laxman authored that great comeback.
It was one of the most remarkable comebacks in the history of the game and what stood out was the main actors happened to be individuals who were close to losing their place in the side.
"I just played my normal game. I had decided to play my shots that day and the support from Rahul in the middle gave me the confidence to execute what I had in mind," said Laxman as he reflected on those glorious moments.
For Harbhajan, it was an opportunity to revive his career. "I knew my strength was my confidence. Once dada (Ganguly) backed me I knew the importance of my job. It was a responsibility which I enjoyed and not for a moment did I think of the past," said Harbhajan, remembering every dismissal.
The Indian dressing room experienced a joy which was not rare in home conditions but as Ganguly pointed out "these two wins mattered a lot because they came against such a quality side. People had written us off after the loss at Mumbai and that's one reason why the boys will never forget those wins."
Ganguly was right. At various stages, Sachin Tendulkar, Shiv Sundar Das, Sameer Dighe...had all chipped in. "great contribution," was how Ganguly described the collective charge of the young brigade. And therein lay the strength of the great turnaround of the year - India's defeat of Australia.
As for the bat and the ball which spelt doom for Australia at Kolkata, they form the priceless personal collections of Laxman and Harbhajan, main actors of the epic cricket drama of 2001.
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