OTD – VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid put on 303 against Australia to turn the match around for India in 2003

Since the turn of the millennium, the cricketing rivalry between India and Australia has become a huge box-office attraction. The first instance of this was during the 2001 series which India came from behind to win with a 2-1 margin. The famous Test match in Kolkata is still regarded as one of the greatest games. 

Two players who were part of the cricketing renaissance in 2001 were Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman. Team India became the 2nd side to ever follow on and yet end up on the losing side. Two years later, Sourav Ganguly led the Indian side to tour Australia in what was Steve Waugh’s last-ever series as an international player. 

The first Test match in Brisbane ended in a draw as the series moved to Adelaide for the 2nd game. Australia batted first and scored a massive 556 on the board out of which 400 came in the very first day. The game also marked the debut of Irfan Pathan who made an immediate impact with the wicket of Matthew Hayden. 

Ricky Ponting was the best batter for the home team with 242 runs from 352 balls. Simon Katich (75) and Justin Langer (58) contributed well with the bat for the home. Anil Kumble was India’s best bowler with 5/154 in the first innings. 

Kolkata redux for Australia as Dravid -Laxman stand takes India through 

India came out to bat on day 2 and was in trouble after a great start. Virender Sehwag and Aakash Chopra added 66 runs for the 1st wicket in 12 overs before Chopra was out for 27. Sehwag scored 47 and he was caught by Matthew Hayden while Sachin Tendulkar was out for 1. The first three wickets all fell to Andy Bichel as skipper Sourav Ganguly was run out for 2. 

VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid then batted 563 balls to add 303 runs for the 5th wicket. Dravid went on to score 233 runs while Laxman scored 148 with the visitors getting bowled out for 523. In reply, Australia were bowled out for 196 with an overall lead of 229 runs as Ajit Agarkar picked 6/41. Team India won the game by 4 wickets as Dravid scored an amazing 72 not out with Sehwag scoring yet another 47. Sachin Tendulkar (37) and VVS Laxman (32) made useful contributions with the bat. 

Recalling the partnership during his chat with Star Sports recently, Dravid said “I was thinking, ‘I’ve got the captain run out. I better do something meaningful.’ It was my mistake getting Saurav (Ganguly) run out. The thing with Laxman and me is that we had batted together a couple of really big partnerships before that.”

The former Indian skipper also added, “As the partnership grew, the wicket was a pretty good one to bat on, the ball got a bit softer, and runs started flowing a lot easier,”. It was a huge win in India’s cricket history and Steve Waugh had even complimented Dravid for his knock at the end of the game. 

Disclaimer: This exclusive news is based on the author’s insights, analysis, and intuition. While reviewing this information, consider the points discussed and form your own conclusions. 

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