OTD| Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman guided India to their greatest Test victory after Australia imposed a follow-on in 2001

Some results are not meant just for record books rather the concept of record books is devised for such results. The Indian team led by a belligerent Sourav Ganguly pulled off one such result against the invincible Australians commanded by an indomitable Steve Waugh in Kolkata Test. It was made possible by a historic partnership between VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid. 

The Aussies rule the roost in the first innings 

The Australian team was coming on the back of a victory in the series opener in Mumbai. One more win and the Kangaroos would have conquered the ‘final frontier’ as per Steve Waugh. The Australian skipper won the toss and elected to bat first. Waugh led from the front and was able to score an outstanding century by guiding his team to a challenging total in the first innings. Courtesy of Waugh’s 110 and Matthew Hayden’s 97 Australia posted 445 runs on the board at the end of the first innings. For India, Harbhajan Singh was at the pick of the bowlers with 7 wickets to his name. 

This impressive start was further consolidated by Australia when they came out to bowl. The pace duo of McGrath and Gillespie got rid of the openers without much trouble. Then Michael Kasprowicz gave the biggest blow to India by dismissing the talisman, Sachin Tendulkar. These initial setbacks kicked off a collapse in the batting order which ended with India getting bowled out for 171 runs. The home team could not avoid the follow-on as the lead for Australia was huge. 

Defiance determines destiny 

In the second innings, India had to play catch-up as Australia had a massive edge in the contest. The openers Shiv Sunder Das and Sadagoppan Ramesh settled the nerves with a fifty-plus partnership. However, the two could not build upon that. Australia was able to make a comeback by dismissing them before India could cross the 100-run mark. Another major setback for the home team was Sachin Tendulkar’s failure in the second innings. VVS Laxman and captain Sourav Ganguly tried to reduce the margin with a 117-run partnership. 

The real resurgence for India happened after Ganguly’s dismissal. Rahul Dravid walked in after the skipper’s departure and what unfolded after that is remembered as the greatest partnership in the history of Indian cricket. VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid batted throughout day four and stitched a match-winning 376-run partnership. Laxman scored 281 runs, the then-highest individual score for an Indian in Tests, and Dravid had 180 runs to his name. Eventually, India ended up with 657/7 in the second innings, posting a target of 384 for Australia. The home team went on to win the match comprehensively by 171 runs to level the series.