How Laxman has time and again rescued India

VVS Laxman has successfully emerged as the crisis man of indian test cricket. No wonder he was, is and will be very, very special

Evan after his extraordinary knock of 281 against the Aussies at Kolkata, VVS Laxman has time and again had to prove some of his detractors wrong.

And he has done so with fluency in the last few years, having developed the reputation of the 'Iron Man'u00a0-- a batsman whose sheer presence in the middle spells hopeu00a0-- in the bargain. For long, Rahul Dravid held the reputation of being the go-to man in a crisis situation.

However, over time, it is Laxman, who has churned out the match-saving/winning knocks at will. The Hyderabadi won't finish his career with as many runs as Dravid or Sachin Tendulkar, but his inspirational knocks have placed him in a peerless bracket.



Laxman's teammates have often spoken about the calming influence he has on them. Coach Gary Kirsten recently said that India would miss Laxman batting in crucial situations, if and when the batsman does call it a day.

Former India captain Dilip Vengsarkar could not agree more. "He is an all-time great batsman now. He has proved it. Nobody can question that," Vengsarkar told MiD DAY yesterday. "If you analyse all his hundreds, each time India has either won or drawn the Test. He is truly the batsman to turn to when in trouble. The best part about Laxman's career is that he has created a niche for himself.

There aren't too many like him; not too many players give nightmares to Australia. Also, he is most enjoyable to watchu00a0-- stylish batting, and more than anything else, he's such a gem of a person," added former India selection committee chairman, Vengsarkar.

In fact, Vengsarkar feltu00a0 Laxman would have had a lot more tons had he batted up the order. "He has spent most of his career batting at No 6, and yet delivered under pressure. He could've had many more centuries had he batted higher."

Harbhajan Singh, who scored his maiden Test ton and saved the Motera Test thanks to an able partnership with Laxman yesterday, hailed the Hyderabadi as "Sankat Mochan"u00a0-- Crisis Man. "Laxman got an unlucky decision, or would have got a hundred. I got my hundred because of him," he said.

From 2009...

>>u00a0Knocks of 76 and 124* help India draw the Napier Test, March 2009.
>>143* helps India win Kolkata Test against South Africa, February 2010.
>>103* helps India chase down 258 against Sri Lanka, August 2010.
>> 73* helps India chase down 216 on Day Five against Australia at Mohali, Oct 2010.
>> 91 helps India recover from 15-5 to post 266 and save Ahmedabad Test, Nov 2010.