Laxman-Dravid's Eden heroics: The day a nation, laughed, cried and rejoiced together

In a country of more than 1.2 billion people, emotion and cricket go hand-in-hand. While fans go over-the-top and attack their heroes when they under-perform, burning effigies and shouting slogans, they cheer like mad when a certain Mahendra Singh Dhoni hits a six to win them the World Cup. 

And no day perfectly encapsulates the madness of Indian cricket than 14th March, 2001, when Messrs Dravid and Laxman made an entire nation believe that there was no feat too difficult. 

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On this day, 15 years ago, two men from South India - Vangipurapu Venkata Sai Laxman and Rahul Sharad Dravid, decided to tease and tempt the all conquering Aussies at the hallowed Eden Gardens in Kolkata. Well as they say the rest is history and for Steve Waugh it still remains a mystery as to how a team that had been forced to follow on could beat them. 

However, he can't be blamed because only twice in the history of the game such a feat had been achieved. The shrewd Aussie had termed that India tour as the 'final frontier' for the all-conquering Aussies, and the fortress stood firm as Sourav Ganguly's men won the Border-Gavaskar trophy 2-1 even after losing the first Test in Mumbai.

While the Laxman-Dravid bravado is now a part of cricketing folklore which is still held in high esteem by the aficionados of the game, what made the evening special was that the country started to believe that 'nothing is impossible'. The 376-run fifth wicket partnership between Lax and Jammy not only revitalised the Indian dressing room but also instilled an unprecedented sense of courage in the mind of one lakh spectators on the ground and millions on the other side of television. Time had come when we could scream our lungs out and say, " We can give it back."

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Just like Rocky Balboa aka Sylvester Stallone , the Indians waited, spent tiring hours in the sweltering heat, took the devastating Aussie blows in their stride,  accepted the ignominy of being asked to follow on and then when the time was ripe to punch above their weight, they made it sure it was a knock out punch.

This author, was lucky to be present at the mecca of Indian cricket on all five days of that historic Test and the very thought of those days still gives him goosebumps.

On the third day a little boy walked into the stadium holding his father's little finger hoping to see the who's who of Indian cricket bat the nation out of trouble. His thoughts soon became a distant dream as the hosts were bundled out for 171 in the first innings. The holy trinity of Indian cricket - Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly had managed to put up a sum total of meagre 58 runs. The kid with tearful eyes asked his dad, "Can we still win the game?" "Yes we can," replied his smiling father not one to disappoint an innocent child with harsh realities.

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What ensued was a fairy tale in its own right. The Very Very Special batsman from Hyderabad, promoted to No.3 in the second innings, batted like a champion and at the end of the day having completed a marvellous century, he found a 'Wall' upon whom he could trust his life. The kid's facial expression had changed. But those few tense hours had made him a bit more mature and he could apprehend that the game wasn't over yet.

The stage was set for a blockbuster movie, where two heroes were trying to fight off eleven 'gundas' as a Bollywood movie would have dubbed the Australians. They fought and fought valiantly all through the fourth day. Steve Waugh tried out nine different bowlers and none could break the partnership. By the time the visitors managed to get Laxman caught for 281 on the fifth day, the Indians had already completed the Herculean task of conquering Mount Everest. The Hyderabadi was sitting atop all, notching up the highest score by an Indian in pre-Sehwag era. Dravid batted on before being finally run out for 180.

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Never one to accept a draw, and probably less so at his home ground, Sourav Ganguly made a courageous declaration asking the Aussies to score 384 off 75 overs in two and half sessions. Those were the times when the kangaroos' pride was hurt even with stalemates. The World champions were on a 16-match winning streak and were in no mood to cut their record short.

Australia tried to go after the target. At tea they were 161 for three in 43 overs with Matthew Hayden and Steve Waugh batting on 59 and 23 respectively. Then came the Harbhajan storm. Seven wickets fell in the last two hours of the game, one lakh people, some sitting on seats, some on stairs, rejoiced at the top of their voice.

That little kid was present with his dad on that fateful day too. The father lifted his son on his shoulders and danced like he used to dance in Durga puja pandals, they cried like teenagers, but these were tears of unheralded joy and unabashed pride. Yes, we had become a nation which could take on the superpowers of the cricketing world on any given day.

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