Golden oldies at their fabulous best

India’s ageing middle-order has come good this series, brushing aside criticism and talks of retirement

NEW DELHI: VVS Laxman is at his sublime best; Sachin Tendulkar played two handsome and effortless innings. Sourav Ganguly, though failing to capitalise on the run feast in New Delhi, is in the midst of a decent farewell series.

While Rahul Dravid hasn’t made as many runs as he would have liked, India’s most successful No.3, has looked in good touch. An overview of the last two Tests, at Bangalore and Mohali, and going by the action till stumps on Day two of the third game, shows that the famed Indian middle-order has regained a great deal of goodwill that had eroded after a poor series in Sri Lanka.

Laxman, constantly under pressure to prove one thing or another, made his second double century against the Australians and Ganguly has notched up a century, while Dravid chipped in with a vital 51 after India lost Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag in quick succession during the first innings in Bangalore.

Tendulkar is looking in ominous touch. He went past Brian Lara’s record and also breached the 12,000-run mark in Tests. Ganguly has entered the 7,000-run club. There was a time, just before the start of this series, when many believed that the four batting Gods of Indian cricket were on their last legs. Now, the barbs have given away to appreciation. The cheers at the Kotla are unmistakable.

Most of the criticism stemmed from the failure of the ageing middle-order to make runs in Sri Lanka. What added fuel to the fire was the success of the younger ODI team in the Island Nation and the failure of the Test side.

All among Tendulkar, Dravid, Ganguly and Laxman were under trial going into this high-profile series. But success against the best side, though in familiar home conditions, has downed the cacophony generated by the critics and the media, at least for the time being. The harsh criticism directed at the middle-order bulwarks after one poor series could now seem too premature.

Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi, the former India skipper and one of the finest brains in the game, believes that the Fab Four shouldn’t take to heart the barbs hurled at them.

“The criticism they received going into this series wasn’t harsh keeping in mind that people expect their heroes to perform every time they step on to the field. The expectations from them are high and as soon as they fail, they are open to criticism. These senior batsmen are victims of the very high standards they have set. It is something they must have learnt to live with by now as they have played for so many years. When one is a champion player, people’s tolerance and patience run very thin,” Pataudi told DNA in New Delhi on Thursday.

Laxman trained his guns at the media for writing off the middle-order and adding pressure to senior players like him going into this tough series. “The Doubting Thomases are people in the media and those outside the team,”

Laxman said when asked about the criticism he faced. “Unfortunately, all the stories that came before this series were very negative, but we took it in a positive way and the team got together and because of all the negativity in the media the team got together and that is showing in our performance,” Laxman said.

“It hurts. We are not asking anyone to over respect us but we don’t want people degrading our contribution to Indian cricket,” Laxman said.

Tendulkar has jumped to the defence of his peers demanding more respect for their contribution to Indian cricket. He has stressed that seniors know best when to move on. In this series, India’s marquee players have proved that they are not running on fumes alone. Now only if Kumble can follow-up his 45 with wickets at his ‘favourite’ ground.