Laxman & Dravid do it again

A stunning 303 run partnership between Rahul Dravid & VVS Laxman has seen India come crashing back into the 2nd test at the Adelaide Oval.

Beginning the day on 4-180 , still a massive 376 runs behind , India were relying heavily on the pairing of Dravid & Laxman , who had just 18 months earlier batted all day together against Australia to turn the match & series at Calcutta , however the vastly different Australian conditions presented a new challenge to the pair , one they were only to happy to accept.
Cautious early on , in the face of tight spells from Stuart MacGill & Jason Gillespie , the pair soon began to open up , playing in a manner reminiscent of their famous Calcutta stand , Laxman offered the only chance of the morning session when he flashed at a wide ball from Andrew Bichell , only for Ricky Ponting to drop a sharp chance at second slip.

The pair continued in their pugnacious manner after lunch , Dravid batting in uncharacteristic fashion , cutting Jason Gillespie for four & driving Stuart MacGill elegantly for the same result , Laxman’s square driving was a treat to watch , the tall right hander clearly enjoying the short square boundaries.
Dravid moved into the 90’s with disdain , no mean feat considering he never reached 40 on his last tour down under , Gillespie dropped a bouncer in with Dravid on 98 , rather than simply ducking he went for the hook , the ball sailing high into the crowd & Dravid for once , unleashed him emotions , rather than his usual bashful acknowledgment.

Laxman’s hundred followed soon after & was met with a similar reaction , Steve Waugh , arguably for the first time since that Calcutta test looked out of ideas , Laxman hitting a sweet late cut to bring up the 300 partnership , making these two just the 3rd pair in history to record 2 300 partnerships , the fact that they both came against the all conquering Australians with India in dire straight’s says as much for the players fighting qualities as for their exceptional strokeplay.
Alas all good things must come to an end , and so it was , Laxman gloving behind off a short ball from Bichel in the last over before tea for a priceless 148 (18 fours).

Keeper Parthiv Patel walked out to join Rahul Dravid following the lunch break , for the second time in the series the diminutive 18 year old surprised the Aussies with his sound temperament , and showed a hint of dash , smashing MacGill for 3 boundaries in one over , as Dravid simply went about his work at the other end , mixing supremely elegant drives with wristy pulls.
The introduction of Simon Katich paid immediate dividends , Patel driving on the up at a well flighted delivery , only for Ricky Ponting to accept the catch at cover , Patel made 31 (6 fours).
Katich continued to extract significant turn & bounce from the pitch , even troubling Dravid , he was rewarded with the wicket of Ajit Agarkar for 11.

Anil Kumble managed to stick with Dravid until stumps , the wristy number 3 remaining unbeaten on 199 (19 fours , 1 six) , clearly disappointed after taking a single off the penultimate ball of the day as India closed on 7-477 , still 89 runs behind.

This was clearly India’s day & the match is now open to both sides , with the wicket looking likely to break up as the temperatures increase in the next two days.

However the odds of a draw are surely shortening.

Australia - 556 (Ponting 242 , Kumble 5-154)
India - 7-477 (Dravid 199* , Laxman 148 , Bichel 4-114 , Katich 2-58)




Posted by DavidH