Gautam Gambhir and V.V.S. Laxman helped themselves to double-centuries at the Ferozeshah Kotla on Thursday, their partnership of 278 laying the ballast for India to push for victory in the third Test.India declared its innings on 613 for seven an hour and seventeen minutes after tea on the second day, leaving the Australian openers an uncomfortable period to play out. They hung in, Simon Katich outscoring Matthew Hayden, but surviving a close shout for leg-before from leg-spinner Amit Mishra.
India’s bowlers will need to maintain their intensity on Friday if they are to do justice to Gambhir and Laxman’s efforts, and secure the series and with it the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
Crucial task
Gambhir and Laxman were confronted with a crucial task on Thursday morning, which had dawned colder and foggier than Wednesday. It was the sort of task that doesn’t appear terribly significant hours after the event, but Test cricket is a cumulative game — dramatic, defining passages can often be traced back to such periods.
With India resuming on 296 for three, and the second new ball in the best shape for Australia’s monochrome mode of attack, the tussle for control began in right earnest. India needed to survive the first hour so it could progress to set the agenda for victory; Australia required breakthroughs, several of them, as cheaply and quickly as possible.
Gambhir got to 150 with little fuss, tucking a rising delivery behind square, and for the next several minutes, both the left-handed opener and his partner profited from exploring the vacant tracts behind the staggered slip cordon. Gambhir did it with a choppy glide reminiscent of Justin Langer; Laxman waved wide deliveries away with the air of a conductor.
Testing Laxman
Brett Lee and Mitchell Johnson decided to hunt Laxman’s ribs with a leg gully and two men for the hook. A profitable line of enquiry, for Lee had troubled Laxman with the bouncer in Australia late last year.
After a spectacular hook shot, Laxman got into an awkward position against Lee, fending one through the slip cordon. But he recovered his poise to pull Johnson in front of square.
The tactic of banging it in was an isolated attempt at variety from an attack that clearly lacked imagination.
As the ball softened, the shortcomings of the Australian attack, which for the second day failed to consistently conjure reverse swing, were laid bare.
What was needed with little happening in the air and off the surface was unremitting control and a spot of bluster and bluff — qualities Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne used to offer. With none in the Australian attack producing a magic ball — the baited set-up, it appeared, was beyond them as well — Ricky Ponting wasn’t sure where to turn for a wicket.
Chances lost
The odd chance that transpired caught Australia by surprise: Cameron White procured an edge from Gambhir (on 176) with a googly, but Hayden didn’t react in time at slip; Laxman, on 134, edged Shane Watson but wicketkeeper Brad Haddin’s concentration, and consequently his footwork were found wanting.
Watson eventually ended Gambhir’s nine-hour stay (206, 375b, 25x4, 1x6), hustling the tired opener into edging one onto his stumps.
Katich extracted Sourav Ganguly, caught at short cover, but Dhoni, Kumble, and Zaheer lent Laxman boisterous, entertaining support.
The artist from Hyderabad (a description so trite it could easily have lost meaning if not for Laxman’s exceptional ability to refresh it continually and subtly alter its significance) batted with all his soft-handed finery.
Apart from its aesthetic appeal — which must never be lost sight of, for batting is creative expression after all — Laxman’s stay was key to India’s cause.
It was largely thanks to Laxman’s freakish feel for timing an old, infirm ball with nothing more than a twist of the wrists that India scored at over four an over in the first two sessions without doing anything out of the ordinary.
Laxman’s unbeaten 200 (470m, 301b, 21x4) was his sixth century against an opposition he so obviously loves. He has conquered greater Australian attacks, however.
This innings was more a case of kicking an opponent when it’s down and hurting, but he did it with such grace that not even Australia’s supporters at the Kotla complained.
SCOREBOARD
India — 1st innings: G. Gambhir b Watson 206, V. Sehwag lbw b Lee 1, R. Dravid c Hayden b Johnson 11, S. Tendulkar c Haddin b Johnson 68, V.V.S. Laxman (not out) 200, S. Ganguly c Ponting b Katich 5, M.S. Dhoni c Haddin b Watson 27, A. Kumble lbw b Johnson 45, Zaheer (not out) 28, Extras (b-6, lb-8, nb-6, w-2) 22; Total (for seven wkts. decl. in 161 overs) 613.
Fall of wickets: 1-5 (Sehwag), 2-27 (Dravid), 3-157 (Tendulkar), 4-435 (Gambhir), 5-444 (Ganguly), 6-481 (Dhoni), 7-579 (Kumble).
Australia bowling: Lee 30-2-119-1, Clark 33-9-69-0, Johnson 32-4-142-3, Watson 20-4-66-2, White 15-1-73-0, Clarke 14-0-59-0, Katich 15-3-60-1, Ponting 2-0-11-0.
Australia — 1st innings: M. Hayden (batting) 16, S. Katich (batting) 29, Extras (b-4, nb-1) 5; Total (for no loss in 15 overs) 50.
India bowling: Zaheer 4-2-9-0, Ishant 4-1-9-0, Kumble 4-1-17-0, Mishra 3-0-11-0.
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