Two and a half years after the Eden Gardens miracle, VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid were in it again – this time in Australia. In the second Test at the Adelaide Oval, India were reduced to 85 for 4 in reply to Australia’s 556 in their first innings. They lost Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly in rapid succession.
This time the roles were reversed and now Rahul Dravid was batting at number three and VVS Laxman was batting at number six. Dravid took an aggressive route as he tried to regain the momentum from Australia.
Lakshmana, on the other hand, stood firm in defense and then those magical wrists took care of the driving, biting and pulling. It was a scintillating display of batting with grace from the batsmen at both ends.
By the end of the third day, the pair had added 95 runs. The next day, they were in the area once again. Whereas in Kolkata, the pair added 376 runs in 104.1 overs and here they added 303 runs in 93.5 overs. There was only one sign of extravagance when Lakshmana ran away loosely on the teacup on the fourth day.
When the pair came together, India were in a helpless position and now the team was at 388 for 5. Even after Laxman’s departure, Dravid continued to pile on the runs. When he was finally dismissed for 233, India posted 523.
Ajit Agarkar ruined the Australian batting order by taking 6 wickets. Tendulkar took the crucial wickets of Damien Martin and Steve Waugh.
Chasing a target of 230, Dravid once again took charge and scored an unbeaten 72 as India registered a 4-wicket win.
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