As VVS Laxman retires, it brings an end to an extraordinary career. As one does on such occasions, I would like to look back upon the career of this wonderful batting genius. Laxman played cricket for India in a very special era. It was an era where India had arguably its best ever middle order. VVS Laxman was one of the major pillars of the Indian batting in that era. Out of the four giants of Indian batting, I had found VVS was the most attractive. His batting was almost like the manifestation of the divine. When Laxman batted, it was not just about the number of runs he scored but also the manner in which those runs came. When he batted, the context of the game, the opposition and everything else lost meaning. There was an artist's touch to his batting. When Laxman played, he did not merely hit a boundary. He wrapped it with his magic.
Blessed with divine timing and freakish wrists, VVS conjured some breathtaking shots. The brand of cricket that Laxman played can never be taught to anyone. It is an ability one has to be just blessed with. He could gracefully cover drive a half-volley to the boundary for a four. He would flick the same delivery to the mid-wicket boundary just as gracefully he had cover driven the ball. In fact he could play at least four different strokes to the same delivery and each of those strokes would be leave you gasping, with mouth wide open.
Blessed with divine timing and freakish wrists, VVS conjured some breathtaking shots. The brand of cricket that Laxman played can never be taught to anyone. It is an ability one has to be just blessed with. He could gracefully cover drive a half-volley to the boundary for a four. He would flick the same delivery to the mid-wicket boundary just as gracefully he had cover driven the ball. In fact he could play at least four different strokes to the same delivery and each of those strokes would be leave you gasping, with mouth wide open.
Laxman was not all about this mystical player who could play these seemingly impossible strokes. I had always thought there are two kinds of batsman. The first charmed you with their grace. They kept you riveted to their batting - pulled of shots from impossible angles, almost as if they were defying gravity. The second were the 'get the job done' kind of players. These were the guys you needed in tough situations. They fought hard with courage, may not be looking elegant but got the runs. Laxman combined these two diverse batting methodologies. He was gritty and yet so elegant.
Laxman had built the reputation of being India's crisis man. When the chips were down, when it looked gloomy and bleak, VVS Laxman found his comfort zone. When the rest of the team faltered, Laxman rose to the occasion. Laxman has scripted many improbable wins, pulling victory from the jaws of defeat. It began in Kolkata against the mighty Australians. The 281 he scored against Australia in that historic test match of 2001, is regarded as the greatest innings ever played by any Indian in test match cricket. From that day Laxman has given hope even in the darkest hour.
Laxman had built the reputation of being India's crisis man. When the chips were down, when it looked gloomy and bleak, VVS Laxman found his comfort zone. When the rest of the team faltered, Laxman rose to the occasion. Laxman has scripted many improbable wins, pulling victory from the jaws of defeat. It began in Kolkata against the mighty Australians. The 281 he scored against Australia in that historic test match of 2001, is regarded as the greatest innings ever played by any Indian in test match cricket. From that day Laxman has given hope even in the darkest hour.
Another great quality of Laxman was his ability to play with the tail. He brings out the best of what the tail-enders have got. Whether it was Ishant Sharma in Mohali or Zaheer Khan in Durban, Laxman rallied with them and produced match winning partnerships.
In the 134 matches VVS Laxman played, he scored 8781 at an average of 45.97 scoring 17 hundreds. These outstanding statistics for any cricketer. But when you put the fact that for the better part of his career he batted at number 6, these statistics look even better. I am certain that if he would have batted at number 3 or 4, he would have scored at least 10-15 centuries more and averaged may be 5 - 8 runs higher. But Indian cricket was best served with him batting at number 6. This is what Laxman has always stood for - putting the team's needs above his. Laxman's career can never be judged by the numbers. His contribution is way beyond those 17 hundreds he scored.
Laxman has never been the darling of the masses. He has rarely featured in advertisements. That is purely because Laxman was a cricketer of the elite. Like Shakespeare or Milton, whose work can only be appreciated only by the connoisseurs of English language, Laxman's batting was an art that could be understood and appreciated only by the devoted fans of cricket.
As Laxman calls it a day, poetry stops in Indian cricket. In my opinion he would the cricketer who would be missed the most. Rather than getting bogged down, he faced adversity face to face and invariably thrived in such situations. I have been privileged to be born in an era where I could follow the career of the greatest poet of Indian Cricket.
Well written ... :)
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