Exclusively to TOI | ‘VVS Laxman and I were not big talkers in the middle’: Rahul Dravid recalls 2001 Eden Gardens Test against Australia | Cricket News –

Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman put together a series-defining partnership in the Eden Gardens Test to script one of the greatest turnarounds in cricket. Speaking to TOI, the former India captain spoke about the tactical appeals, marathon attitude and how the victory proved to be a turning point in Indian cricket.Go beyond boundaries with our YouTube channel. Subscribe now!How your model performed Eden test?It was patchy, to be honest. She scored runs in the series against Zimbabwe leading up to this Australia series. In domestic cricket, I got some runs. So, from that perspective, I was feeling pretty good. In the first Test in Mumbai, I batted for long on in the second innings but got out to Shane Warne. The same thing happened in the first rounds in Aden. But in the context of the series, there was so much hype and hype around it that I felt like I was really out of shape.

In fact, I didn’t even run three laps.Given all that, was a hundred off Warne’s bowling so special?Warren was a fantastic player and an absolute legend of the game. There were times when I felt like he was out-wooding me because I didn’t really put much credit against him. Against bowlers like him, you want to get a big score, so it was good to be able to score runs and be able to play with him like I did.What was your reaction when you were told that you would have to hit a 6 in the second round?It was John Wright and Sourav Ganguly’s decision. They came up to me and asked my thoughts on this topic.

It looked very plausible as Laxman was batting beautifully in the first innings. It made sense to put the guy who was at his best in front of me at that point. It seemed a little strange because it was just a few low-scoring rounds for me, so it occurred to me whether we were overreacting. But the conversation was about putting a little pressure back on the Australians and I realized that was probably the best thing to do.

And it worked brilliantly.

You’ve had some great partnerships with Laxman.I have always enjoyed batting alongside Laxman because, firstly, he is a great player and a great batsman to watch. So, you have a really good seat at home. He was not confused or disturbed by many things. We played a lot of South Zone cricket together and some junior cricket as well. We were communicating a little bit, but we’re not like big talkers in the middle.

So this suits my game too.

He was one of those players who had the skills to bowl all over the wicket and did not feel that any kind of bowling could trouble him. So, when you play alongside a player like him, it gives you confidence and belief.I batted for 446 minutes with Laxman. What’s the one routine you follow?I had a personal routine that I followed before every delivery, which was just a couple of taps with the bat while moving my feet in a certain way. I took a few breaths and sometimes said to myself: “Watch the ball.”

Laxman had his own routine and he liked to draw a lot of lines on the pitch and tap the bat. I would pull his leg sometimes and not put my bat down until he tapped it and he got a little grumpy about that.What was your reaction after directing the ton at anyone in the press box? People have never seen you react this way before.That’s been blown out of proportion a little bit. I think in some ways, there was a lot of pressure on me. You can’t really respond to everything people say. I understand it better now because I’m wiser and more mature and have seen a fair amount of life in 25 years.

But I really felt like there was a lot of negativity around the team and a lot of criticism, which was unwarranted at that point. Also, some of the criticism directed at me was somewhat unjustified.

She only went three innings without scoring. I was young and feeling pressure. As a young person fighting for your place on the team, for your career and for the team, you are not always mature enough to fully understand the situation.

I’m happy enough to admit 25 years later that I probably let things affect me, which I shouldn’t have. But it wasn’t meant for anyone in particular. It was a relief and kind of an outlet for the stress I was feeling. Whatever my reputation, so to speak, I have always been human.What was the conversation like in the locker room after each session?It was about keeping the pressure on them. Just being in the moment and not trying to think too much about the future. Until the last session of the fifth day, we were not even thinking about winning.

In fact, we had to strike for some time the next day, and we drove them out. The runs we piled up in the second innings (down 657/7) were in some ways a backhanded compliment to the Australians because they were such a strong side that we thought we had to get a lot of runs on the board.Did the statement come too late?People felt that way. There can always be different opinions about that. But the thinking in the team was to put them under pressure so that they had to defend rather than attack and never force us to push players back.

Having men around the bat all the time created constant pressure and, therefore, opportunities. If we had given them even a small chance to attack, the game would have been completely different.What is faith on the fifth day?There was a certain sense of belief because we knew the ball was low and the wicket was turning. Harbhajan Singh bowled beautifully and was at the top of his game.While you, Laxman and Harbhajan were grabbing the headlines, there were other heroes too…Some people have made a truly incredible impact. Sachin’s wicket was very critical after tea on the fifth day. We don’t get those wickets very often, especially get them

Adam Gilchrist

Coming out was huge. Venky (Venkatesh Prasad)’s 42-run stand with Laxman in the first innings, and (Sadagopan) Ramesh’s catches, were all crucial. Also, very good driving by Sourav. He also had 48 crucial points in the second half. It felt like a complete team effort. But of course, when you have two big shows like that, people tend to just recognize them and remember themHas the Eden test made captains wary of enforcing the follow-on?I think this is true. In some ways, I wasn’t surprised that Australia followed us.

After the Eden test, I think, in some ways, you started to see teams being more cautious about introducing follow-ups. Teams have been more cautious about enforcing the follow-on, especially in subcontinent conditions. I think we’re starting to do it less. I think as an Indian team, we’re starting to realize that maybe there’s no need to enforce the follow-through so much when you have so much time left in the game.

Time is a crucial factor in these matters. I think people looked at follow-up differently after this test.What did the Eden Test do for Indian cricket?It did a lot, because it gave us some stability. John Wright was our first foreign coach and there were some doubts and criticism about whether it would work and what might happen. If we hadn’t won the series, I couldn’t answer what might have happened. But the pressure would certainly have been on the whole team. But the fact that we were able to win that series and play very good cricket, gave us as a group a little bit of breathing room.

He also allowed us to build From there, direct the team in a certain direction. Even without this win, I think Indian cricket would have finally gotten where it needed to be. But it might have taken a little longer. This victory also sparked a phase in which we started winning Test and single series overseas.Did you keep any souvenirs from that test?I have the bat tucked away somewhere and a couple of other souvenirs.Twenty-five years, does it seem like a lifetime?People keep reminding me of roles. I always cherish it because I think people remember in some ways what they were doing at the time.

For me, that’s really nice because it gives me a feeling that I was able to be part of someone’s memory of doing something that I’m expected to do, which is just part of my job.Where do you rate winning in your career?Maybe I was hitting better in other tough situations, and there were other shots that were better in terms of just pure hitting satisfaction. But, in the context of everything that’s happened and what he’s done for Indian cricket, and for a lot of our careers, I would definitely say that’s up there.