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mcgillianaireThere are few things more pleasurable than watching VVS Laxman dismantle an Aussie Test pace attack. As we countdown the days to arguably Test cricket's most competitive rivalry, I go down memory-lane and recount my most electrifying India-Australia Test moments.
20) Matty Hayden becoming only the second Aussie to score a double-century in India at Chennai, March 2001.
19) Ricky Ponting's double-centuries in back-to-back Tests at Adelaide and Melbourne, December 2003.
18) Steve Waugh's heroic fifty in his final Test innings to save the match (and series) at Sydney, January 2004.
17) McGrath & Brett Lee (in only his 5th Test) skittling India out for only 150 in the 1st innings of the 1st Day at Sydney, January 2000.
16) Gilchrist's breathtaking, blistering run-a-ball century against the run-of-play in the record-equalling 1st Test at Mumbai, March 2001.
15) Tendulkar's counter-attacking 116 at Melbourne, December 1999. Next highest individual score? 31. Total? 238. 'Nuff said.
14) Laxman's brutal but elegant assault of Brett Lee's steamers on Day 2 at Sydney, January 2004. The kind worth waking up at 4am for.
13) Kumble's 24 wickets in the 2003/04 series Down Under. It included eight first-innings wickets at Sydney, January 2004.
12) Bhajji's and India's first Test hat-trick in the 1st innings of the 2nd Test at Kolkata, March 2001. Ponting was his bunny that series.
11) Sehwag's audacious first Day, first innings 195 assault at the MCG, December 2003. Too bad we collapsed the next morning.
10) Laxman's scintillating 167 in a lost-cause at Sydney, January 2000. Next highest individual score? 25. Total? 261.
09) Laxman's inside-out cover-drive while sashaying down the wicket to Warney during his monumental 281 at Kolkata, March 2001.
08) Laxman & Dravid batting out the whole day on their own, scoring 376 runs & overcoming the follow-on at Kolkata, March 2001.
07) Ishant Sharma's spell of hostile swing bowling to captain Ricky Ponting at Perth, January 2008. Ek aur karega? Ha karoonga!
06) Agarkar's only four-plus Test wicket-haul that set up a famous victory at Adelaide, December 2003. He now runs a coffee shop. :P
05) India's stunning nine-run victory in a low-scoring thriller on a spinning minefield at Mumbai, October 2004.
04) Bhajji digging out a block-hole delivery and taking India to a stunning come-from-behind-series-victory in Chennai, March 2001.
03) India's medium-fast bowlers swinging us to victory in Perth, January 2008.
02) Bhajji trapping Glenn McGrath lbw to level the series in the greatest Test match at Kolkata, March 2001.
01) Dravid's square cut that gave us a 1-nil series lead at Adelaide, December 2003. At 4/180 chasing 552, nobody gave us a chance.
BONUS: SRT's 204* (his 1st first-class double!) for Mumbai in 1998 off just 192 balls. It was a harbinger of Aussie doom and gloom.
Unfortunately, I'll be too busy with Law School to be able to watch any of the matches (even though the timings are a lot more convenient than the all-nighters I used to pull at McGill). Cricinfo and YouTube will become my best friends once the first-balls are bowled and wickets-taken. I hope this will be as competitive a series as the last few have been, but most importantly I hope we reclaim the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. If we don't, it will probably have a lot to do with individual/collective failures of India's most celebrated Test batting trio this century: Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman and Sachin Tendulkar. Such a calamity would in most probability spell the end of their respective Test careers, though something tells me we're in for something very, very special. If not from Dravid or Laxman, but from the Little Master himself. He's less than 100 runs away from reaching yet another milestone. He might not be the most destructive or consistent batsman in world cricket anymore, but he is still good enough to play for most Test teams. He is also and will always remain, my favourite world cricketer. Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar, please roll back the years and unleash the force upon the convicts from Down Under! JAI HIND!
20) Matty Hayden becoming only the second Aussie to score a double-century in India at Chennai, March 2001.
19) Ricky Ponting's double-centuries in back-to-back Tests at Adelaide and Melbourne, December 2003.
18) Steve Waugh's heroic fifty in his final Test innings to save the match (and series) at Sydney, January 2004.
17) McGrath & Brett Lee (in only his 5th Test) skittling India out for only 150 in the 1st innings of the 1st Day at Sydney, January 2000.
16) Gilchrist's breathtaking, blistering run-a-ball century against the run-of-play in the record-equalling 1st Test at Mumbai, March 2001.
15) Tendulkar's counter-attacking 116 at Melbourne, December 1999. Next highest individual score? 31. Total? 238. 'Nuff said.
14) Laxman's brutal but elegant assault of Brett Lee's steamers on Day 2 at Sydney, January 2004. The kind worth waking up at 4am for.
13) Kumble's 24 wickets in the 2003/04 series Down Under. It included eight first-innings wickets at Sydney, January 2004.
12) Bhajji's and India's first Test hat-trick in the 1st innings of the 2nd Test at Kolkata, March 2001. Ponting was his bunny that series.
11) Sehwag's audacious first Day, first innings 195 assault at the MCG, December 2003. Too bad we collapsed the next morning.
10) Laxman's scintillating 167 in a lost-cause at Sydney, January 2000. Next highest individual score? 25. Total? 261.
09) Laxman's inside-out cover-drive while sashaying down the wicket to Warney during his monumental 281 at Kolkata, March 2001.
08) Laxman & Dravid batting out the whole day on their own, scoring 376 runs & overcoming the follow-on at Kolkata, March 2001.
07) Ishant Sharma's spell of hostile swing bowling to captain Ricky Ponting at Perth, January 2008. Ek aur karega? Ha karoonga!
06) Agarkar's only four-plus Test wicket-haul that set up a famous victory at Adelaide, December 2003. He now runs a coffee shop. :P
05) India's stunning nine-run victory in a low-scoring thriller on a spinning minefield at Mumbai, October 2004.
04) Bhajji digging out a block-hole delivery and taking India to a stunning come-from-behind-series-victory in Chennai, March 2001.
03) India's medium-fast bowlers swinging us to victory in Perth, January 2008.
02) Bhajji trapping Glenn McGrath lbw to level the series in the greatest Test match at Kolkata, March 2001.
01) Dravid's square cut that gave us a 1-nil series lead at Adelaide, December 2003. At 4/180 chasing 552, nobody gave us a chance.
BONUS: SRT's 204* (his 1st first-class double!) for Mumbai in 1998 off just 192 balls. It was a harbinger of Aussie doom and gloom.
Unfortunately, I'll be too busy with Law School to be able to watch any of the matches (even though the timings are a lot more convenient than the all-nighters I used to pull at McGill). Cricinfo and YouTube will become my best friends once the first-balls are bowled and wickets-taken. I hope this will be as competitive a series as the last few have been, but most importantly I hope we reclaim the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. If we don't, it will probably have a lot to do with individual/collective failures of India's most celebrated Test batting trio this century: Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman and Sachin Tendulkar. Such a calamity would in most probability spell the end of their respective Test careers, though something tells me we're in for something very, very special. If not from Dravid or Laxman, but from the Little Master himself. He's less than 100 runs away from reaching yet another milestone. He might not be the most destructive or consistent batsman in world cricket anymore, but he is still good enough to play for most Test teams. He is also and will always remain, my favourite world cricketer. Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar, please roll back the years and unleash the force upon the convicts from Down Under! JAI HIND!
