‘VVS Laxman scores 281 with my bat’: Venkatapathi Raju on epic Eden Gardens routes | Cricket News –

I came back after almost two years and everything in the team has changed: the fitness levels, the attitude and the mentality.Go beyond boundaries with our YouTube channel. Subscribe now!I still remember the evening after Australia forced the follow-on.

National team Madan Lal asked us to keep fighting. Then Laxman said something that surprised me. “We might win this,” he said.

At that point it was hard to imagine, but he had faith.Rahul Dravid came in sixth, while Laxman moved up the order. The decision came after discussions between coach John Wright and captain Sourav Ganguly. It turned out to be a smart move.

Laxman and Dravid have known each other for years, from the South Zone and Under-19 days.

Once they settled down, the way they fought for an entire day and completely changed the game.There was tension in the locker room. The wicket and tail will be exposed. But the way they hit kept us alive. Meanwhile, Australia were so accustomed to winning that they were not playing for a draw. This is what made things difficult for them.That series belongs largely to Harbhajan Singh. But Sachin Tendulkar’s spell on day five was decisive. He had experience of bowling under pressure – such as in the famous last match in the Champions Trophy in 1993 – and again delivered well when the team needed it.

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Shane Warne

And hit it even against spin. This confidence came after years of playing domestic cricket on the turning tracks in Hyderabad.For me, the Kolkata Test was special because it was my last match. Getting Mark Waugh’s wicket made it even more memorable. It was the perfect goodbye.Most importantly, this Test has transformed Indian cricket. He gave the team the belief that we can fight in any situation and win. There’s another little personal memory: the bat that Laxman used to score the famous 281st was actually mine. So, in a small way, that was my contribution to that historic strike.(The former Indian left-arm pacer spoke to Vishal Menon)