353 DELIVERIES, 20 FOURS
INDIA V AUSTRALIA, 2ND TEST, KOLKATA, 2001
Australia 445 (S Waugh 110; Harbhajan 7-123) & 212 (Hayden 67; Harbhajan 6-73) lost to India 171 (Laxman 59; McGrath 4-18) & 657-7dec (f/o) (Laxman 281, Dravid 180) by 171 runs
OPPOSITION ATTACK: Glenn McGrath, Jason Gillespie, Shane Warne, Michael Kasprowicz, Mark Waugh
Not since Headingley ’81 had a team won a Test match after following on and Australia were on the receiving end once again as VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid combined to glorious effect.
Dravid’s contribution was in part overshadowed by the brilliance of Laxman and then Harbhajan Singh but his innings was a masterpiece in its own right, particularly when you consider he’d been short of runs in the series up to that point and found himself batting in an unfamiliar role at No.6, with Laxman promoted to first drop after a free-flowing half-century in the first innings.
The pair shared a stand of 376 – the second-highest partnership for any Indian wicket – and Dravid’s chanceless 180 was only eventually brought to an end by a run out.With the match turned completely upon its head, Sourav Ganguly eventually declaring with a lead of 383, it was over to Harbhajan to weave his magic and complete arguably Test cricket’s greatest comeback, bringing an end to Australia’s record run of 16 wins on the bounce.
