Bidding adieu to the most stylish middle-order batsman - VVS Laxman

Laxman during his famous innings of 281* against Australia at the Eden Gardens in 2001

When the pins are down, when the swashbuckler and his erudite partner have fumbled, when the wall has been breached, even when the God has failed to lend a helping hand, walks in the most classy, stylish, poetic and perhaps the most underrated middle-order batsman the game has come across.

No points for guessing, it is our own VVS Laxman, the prolific middle-order batsman of India. On one hand, he should be grateful to the lord to be a part of the fortress that formed the Indian middle-order for over a decade and on the other hand he must be kicking his luck just like the other unfortunate lads to have played cricket in the same era as Sachin Tendulkar did. Many a plaudit and accolade have evaded him, and more importantly those crucial match saving knocks have gone unnoticed by a major chunk of the cricket frenzied nation. Now the time has come to bid adieu to the wristy right-hander.

If Sachin’s straight drives were glimpses of brilliance, Rahul’s cover drives were straight from the textbook, then Laxman’s flicks and the cover drives were sheer class. When on-song and the wrist takes over, the viewers are in for a feast. Transferring the weight to the front foot, head weighing down, caressing the ball past the covers, that is what VVS Laxman in-form means. If he was a sweet timer of the pacy deliveries, he was nevertheless a master of the spinners.

On a dry, cracked up 5th day pitch, when the batsmen tend to get befuddled by the bounce and turn, it was a walk in the park for him. Quoting from memory, there are several occasions when VVS has put his head down and negotiated with the drifting deliveries and battled it out on the 5th day, ensuring a draw. Raking up 17 centuries, 56 half centuries and close to 9000 runs batting at No. 5 and 6 is just breathtaking. The stats are a testimony to his sublime class.

It takes a champion to constantly excel against the world’s best team and Laxman was just that. He was nothing but a nemesis to Australia which cemented the numero-uno position for close to a decade. Having managed to send shrills down the Aussies spines, he is regarded as one of the finest test cricketers to have every played Down Under fetching a standing ovation everytime he takes to the field.

By Steve Waugh‘s own words, scalping VVS’s wickets are much more expensive than even accounting for the master. His love-affair with the Aussies started in Sydney where he scored a gritty 167 and the romance never seemed to dry up, barring his last outing to the continent when he returned with a meager 155 runs from 8 innings.

Trailing more than 200, following-on, just when the pendulum swayed towards the other side, padded up the valor warrior, taking guard and grilling the opponents, turning the game by its head, churning out some exquisite shots, scoring the monumental 281* in his favorite hunting location, Eden Gardens. It goes down as one of the finest knocks ever played in the game’s history. If at all the game finds its place in the history books, this knock ought to be inscribed in it.

He belongs to that breed of batsmen who once settled, were almost impossible to take out. He isn’t flamboyant or flashy, yet gritty. Lends solidity and stability to the line-up and anchors the sinking ship with utmost consistency. He doesn’t employ the long handle much, but writing him off is at your own peril, as he’s got a different perspective to the word aggression.

Laxman was unfortunate to play in the same era as ‘God’

Aggression to him is achieving the highest levels of concentration and getting into a zone where his defense could never be intruded. When a batsman doesn’t take chances yet keeps the scoreboard ticking, it spells bad omens for the opposition. Well versed with the knack of grilling the bowlers, he is a silent killer. As a viewer you wouldn’t be aware of the damage he has accounted for nor the tediousness the bowlers succumbed to bowling to him. This has been in his armory over the years and the firepower has overpowered the opponents many a time. Hence the opposite captain dreads the moment when Laxman gets in and stays put for a while, and his apprehensions about a big score in the making grows manifold.

Being a lower-middle order batsman, more often than not he’s padded up under pressure. When the pressure soars, the heat scorches, hopes languishes, the scoreboard stagnates, there comes he, you can sense the grit and determinations when he takes guard, and again more often than not, sails the team to safer shores. That is the stand-out attribute of Laxman, thriving under pressure.

Succumbing to pressure is a common folly for most sportsmen, but we got to see the best of him when soaked in pressure. One brownie point any sportsman would yearn to add to his kitty. His retirement news is featured in the sports section rather than in the gossip section and that tells a tale or two on what a gentleman he has been off-field. Now that he’s called it a day, he has left a huge void that would take some cumbersome scouting to fill in. When there is a dearth of technically sound Test batsmen, Laxman leaving the arena is a big blow to the Indian cricket team.

Not every sportsperson gets to retire in front of his home crowd and VVS was indeed very fortunate to pad-up the last time at his home ground. An emotionally high voltage farewell is on the cards in Hyderabad. That wouldn’t stop our man from setting out with his business. Yet again when he takes guard for the last time, the intestinal fortitude, the mettle, the resolve, the the toughness or the tenacity would still remain intact. For someone of his stature the above adjectives wouldn’t cease to exist even when he is 90.

Dear Laxman, when you were there we failed to acknowledge your class, but today when you’re set to leave the cricket arena, we indeed feel a lump in our throats.

We will miss the three initials at No.6.

Kudos VVS Laxman!