V. V. S. Laxman
Encyclopedia
Vangipurapu Venkata Sai Laxman (born 1 November 1974), sometimes shortened to Venkatsai Laxman but generally known as V.V.S. Laxman, is an Indian cricketer. Laxman represents Hyderabad
in domestic cricket and has played for Lancashire
in English county cricket
. Laxman is the great grand nephew of Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan
, former President of India
. He was the captain of the Deccan Chargers
team in the Indian Premier League
in its first year before being replaced by Adam Gilchrist
for the next year. In 2011, Laxman was awarded with Padma Shri
award, India's fourth highest civilian award from the Government of India
.
Laxman bats right-handed and occasionally bowls off-spin. He is noted for his superb timing and the ability to hit against the spin, reminiscent of his role model Mohammed Azharuddin. Laxman is particularly noted for the skilful use of his supple wrists, which allow him to flick the ball to various places, but usually through the leg side. This also helps in his catching, and he typically fields in the slips or in a bat pad position.
Laxman is noted most for his batting against Australia
, in both test
s and one day internationals. As of February 2010, he has scored 6 out of his 16 test hundreds, and 4 out of his 6 ODI hundreds against Australia. He has two double-centuries in tests, both of them against Australia: his personal best of 281 at Kolkata
in 2000–01, and 200*
at Feroz Shah Kotla
in 2008–09.
, Hyderabad. He then enrolled as a medical student but chose cricket over a career in medicine.
He married G. R. Sailaja from Guntur, who is a post-graduate in computer applications, on 16 February 2004.
at Ahmedabad
. However, he was unable to cement his place in a star-studded Indian middle order. Instead, he was asked to open the innings, starting in South Africa in 1997. Laxman intermittently continued in this role for nearly three years, but without any consistent success. In January 2000, he made 167 against Australia
at Sydney, a rare high point for India in an otherwise disastrous tour. Despite this success against an attack containing both Glenn McGrath
and Shane Warne
, Laxman apparently decided that he would return to domestic cricket, rather than continue playing as opener, a role which he believed did not suit him. As a result, Laxman was out of the Test team for nearly a year. He was recalled in late 2000, and also found a spot in the side for the home series against Australia in 2001. Laxman is a slow runner between wickets and he is one of the few players who have played 100 Tests but have never played in the Cricket World Cup
.
, capitulated, leading to a 10-wicket defeat. This was Australia's 16th consecutive Test win and extended their own world record. In the next Test, however, Laxman shot to fame with an extraordinary Test
innings of 281 in the second innings (following on) against Australia
at Eden Gardens
, when under tremendous pressure and with Australia looking set for a crushing 17th win in a row, he broke Sunil Gavaskar
's long standing Indian Test record score of 236*. This remained the highest ever by an Indian until it was eclipsed by Virender Sehwag
's triple ton against Pakistan
in Multan
in March 2004. The innings also contributed to a record partnership of 376 with Rahul Dravid
who made 180 and together they survived the whole 4th day. Laxman's performance was of enormous consequence: India had been on the brink of an innings defeat but went on to win the Test and the series, denying Steve Waugh
conquest of the "final frontier". This was only the third time in the history of cricket that a team had managed to win a Test after being forced to follow on. It has become one of the most celebrated tales of Indian cricket, and the innings is ranked the sixth best Test innings ever by Wisden Cricketers' Almanack. At the time, the pitch was taking significant turn, and to negate Laxman's free scoring, Australian leg spin
ner Shane Warne
pitched his deliveries into the footmarks outside leg stump. However, such was Laxman's play that he consistently drove the ball through long on for boundaries against the spin, something that is considered to be technically dangerous. When Warne attempted to stop Laxman from scoring by defensively stationing most of the fielders on the leg side (leg theory
) and bowling outside leg stump, Laxman proceeded to skip down the pitch and drive Warne inside-out through the vacant off side, hitting through the line of a substantially turning ball. Warne later admitted that he was clueless as to how to stop Laxman.
Laxman then cemented his place both in the Test and one day teams for a few years. He has continued to perform well against Australia, especially during India's tour of Australia in 2003–04, in which he hit three ODI and two Test centuries. One of his centuries, his 148 in the second Test at Adelaide, came in a triple century partnership with Dravid. India won the Test, which was their first Test victory in Australia in two decades. His innings 178 at Sydney also came in a triple century partnership, on this occasion with Sachin Tendulkar. For this reason, Ian Chappell
described him as Very Very Special Laxman.
took over as coach in mid-2005, mainly on account of his slow ground fielding and running between the wickets; Laxman is a highly-regarded close-catching fielder in stationary positions but in ODIs, these positions are generally disused except for the opening phases of the match, and players otherwise have to patrol substantial spaces and retrieve balls. Another reason was a perception that his batting is too one paced for ODI cricket and that he lacks the ability to score at a high rate as required when the batting team has the momentum, or in the closing stages of the innings. This was despite his superb form in Australia and Pakistan in early 2004, when he made four centuries in 14 games, including three in a week in the VB Series in Australia.
After the tests he joined Lancashire
as their overseas player in place of Brad Hodge
. He played in five games of the county championship and showed glimpses of his sublime batting. In their final County Championship game of 2007, against Surrey at the Oval, Laxman scored a century in the second innings which Lancashire were chasing 489 to win. They just missed out by 25 runs and subsequently lost the Championship to Sussex. His performance for Lancashire was good with 380 runs scored in 5 matches at an average of 54.28 with 2 centuries and 2 half-centuries
In India's home series against Pakistan in 2007, V.V.S. Laxman once again showed his importance to the team with a disciplined batting performance in the 1st Test. He then followed that innings of 72 in the first test with 112 in the second test. This ensured his place on the tour of Australia which would be his 3rd to that country.
Laxman's good form was continued in the 2007/08 series against Australia with him scoring 109 against Australia on the second day of the controversial Sydney Test to put India back into the contest. It was his 12th hundred in Test matches, and his 5th against Australia. It was also his third consecutive century at SCG
, giving him an average well above 90 at the venue. He followed this up with a gritty knock in Perth
, assisted by Mahendra Singh Dhoni
and RP Singh, which set India up to record a historic and unexpected victory at a ground on which previously no Asian team had won.
Laxman was supposed to replace Adam Voges
for Nottinghamshire but this move was vetoed by the BCCI due to the fact that there are players from the rival Indian Cricket League
playing for Nottinghamshire. Laxman also reached 6000 runs in the Sri Lankan series in August 2008.
During the Third Test against Australia at the Feroz Shah Kotla
in Delhi in November 2008, Laxman scored an unbeaten 200 in the first innings with characteristic use of his wrists and flicks through the leg side. In the same innings, Gautam Gambhir
scored 206, Laxman and Gambhir becoming the first pair of batsmen to score double-centuries in the same innings for India, and the first to do so against Australia. He made an unbeaten 59 in the second innings and was named man of the match.
In 2009, Laxman continues to be in top form. He had scored 76 and 124 in the 2nd Test at Napier in New Zealand. In 2010, in a Test match against South Africa held in Kolkata
, he scored 143 in a record stand for the seventh wicket with MS Dhoni. He passed 7000 Test runs during the innings. The test was eventually won by India in the last 10 minutes of the match, which helped India draw the series and remain the world Number 1 team.
Laxman helped India to level the series with Sri Lanka in August 2010 when he hit 103 not out in the run-chase, resulting in a five-wicket win in the Third Test. He was awarded the Man of the Match.
In October, he once again turned around another match that appeared headed for a comfortable Australian victory, in the First Test in Mohali. Laxman was suffering with a back problem and needed Suresh Raina as his runner, and the Indians had collapsed to 124/8 in pursuit of 216. He and paceman Ishant Sharma
put on 81 to take the score to 205 before Sharma fell. Last man Pragyan Ojha
then managed to survive as the hosts completed a one-wicket win. Laxman ended on 73 not out. He also helped India recover from 15/5 against New Zealand in Ahmedabad in 2010 and the match was drawn. Once again he helped India to a historic win at Durban. India were struggling at 94–5 when he and M.S. Dhoni put on a little partnership. He played intensely with the tail to help India get a lead of 302. He was awarded the Man of the Match for his match-winning 96.
Hyderabad cricket team
The Hyderabad cricket team is a domestic cricket team based in the city of Hyderabad. It is part of the Ranji Trophy Elite Group and has seen scattered success over its many years in the Ranji Trophy circuit. It falls into the South Zone in the Duleep Trophy and is one of two teams from Andhra...
in domestic cricket and has played for Lancashire
Lancashire County Cricket Club
Lancashire County Cricket Club represents the historic county of Lancashire in cricket's County Championship. The club was founded in 1864 as a successor to Manchester Cricket Club and has played at Old Trafford since then...
in English county cricket
County cricket
County cricket is the highest level of domestic cricket in England and Wales. For the 2010 season, see 2010 English cricket season.-First-class counties:...
. Laxman is the great grand nephew of Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan
Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan
Sir Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan , OM, FBA was an Indian philosopher and statesman. He was the first Vice President of India and subsequently the second President of India ....
, former President of India
President of India
The President of India is the head of state and first citizen of India, as well as the Supreme Commander of the Indian Armed Forces. President of India is also the formal head of all the three branches of Indian Democracy - Legislature, Executive and Judiciary...
. He was the captain of the Deccan Chargers
Deccan Chargers
Hyderabad Deccan Chargers known in short as DC or 'Chargers' is a cricket franchise that represents the city of Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League...
team in the Indian Premier League
Indian Premier League
The Indian Premier League is a professional league for Twenty20 cricket competition in India. It was initiated by the Board of Control for Cricket in India , headquartered in Mumbai, and is supervised by BCCI Vice President Rajeev Shukla, who serves as the league's Chairman and Commissioner...
in its first year before being replaced by Adam Gilchrist
Adam Gilchrist
Adam Craig Gilchrist AM , nicknamed "Gilly" or "Churchy", is an Australian international cricketer who currently captains Kings XI Punjab and recently captained Middlesex. He is an attacking left-handed batsman and record-breaking wicket-keeper, who redefined the role for the Australian national...
for the next year. In 2011, Laxman was awarded with Padma Shri
Padma Shri
Padma Shri is the fourth highest civilian award in the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan...
award, India's fourth highest civilian award from the Government of India
Government of India
The Government of India, officially known as the Union Government, and also known as the Central Government, was established by the Constitution of India, and is the governing authority of the union of 28 states and seven union territories, collectively called the Republic of India...
.
Laxman bats right-handed and occasionally bowls off-spin. He is noted for his superb timing and the ability to hit against the spin, reminiscent of his role model Mohammed Azharuddin. Laxman is particularly noted for the skilful use of his supple wrists, which allow him to flick the ball to various places, but usually through the leg side. This also helps in his catching, and he typically fields in the slips or in a bat pad position.
Laxman is noted most for his batting against Australia
Australian cricket team
The Australian cricket team is the national cricket team of Australia. It is the joint oldest team in Test cricket, having played in the first Test match in 1877...
, in both test
Test cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
s and one day internationals. As of February 2010, he has scored 6 out of his 16 test hundreds, and 4 out of his 6 ODI hundreds against Australia. He has two double-centuries in tests, both of them against Australia: his personal best of 281 at Kolkata
Eden Gardens
Eden Gardens is a cricket ground in Kolkata , India. It is the home of the Bengal cricket team and the Indian Premier League's Kolkata Knight Riders, as well as being a Test and One Day International ground. It is the largest cricket stadium in India by seating capacity...
in 2000–01, and 200*
Not out
In cricket, a batsman will be not out if he comes out to bat in an innings and has not been dismissed by the end of the innings. One may similarly describe a batsman as not out while the innings is still in progress...
at Feroz Shah Kotla
Feroz Shah Kotla
The Feroz Shah Kotla or Kotla was originally a fortress built by Sultan Ferozshah Tughlaq to house his version of Delhi city called Ferozabad. A pristine polished sandstone pillar from the 3rd century B.C...
in 2008–09.
Personal life
Laxman's parents, father Shantaram and mother Satyabhama, are doctors. Laxman studied at Little Flower High SchoolLittle Flower High School Hyderabad
Little Flower High School is a missionary educational institution based in Hyderabad, India. It has classes from lower Kindergarten to 10th grade level...
, Hyderabad. He then enrolled as a medical student but chose cricket over a career in medicine.
He married G. R. Sailaja from Guntur, who is a post-graduate in computer applications, on 16 February 2004.
Style
Laxman is known for his "wristy, willowy and sinuous" style, one which is technically fluid at its best.Career
Laxman made his Test debut in 1996, scoring a fifty against South AfricaSouth African cricket team
The South African national cricket team represent South Africa in international cricket. They are administrated by Cricket South Africa.South Africa is a full member of the International Cricket Council, also known as ICC, with Test and One Day International, or ODI, status...
at Ahmedabad
Ahmedabad
Ahmedabad also known as Karnavati is the largest city in Gujarat, India. It is the former capital of Gujarat and is also the judicial capital of Gujarat as the Gujarat High Court has its seat in Ahmedabad...
. However, he was unable to cement his place in a star-studded Indian middle order. Instead, he was asked to open the innings, starting in South Africa in 1997. Laxman intermittently continued in this role for nearly three years, but without any consistent success. In January 2000, he made 167 against Australia
Australian cricket team
The Australian cricket team is the national cricket team of Australia. It is the joint oldest team in Test cricket, having played in the first Test match in 1877...
at Sydney, a rare high point for India in an otherwise disastrous tour. Despite this success against an attack containing both Glenn McGrath
Glenn McGrath
Glenn Donald McGrath AM , nicknamed "Pigeon", is a former Australian cricket player. He is one of the most highly regarded fast-medium pace bowlers in cricketing history, and a leading contributor to Australia's domination of world cricket from the mid-1990s to the early 21st century...
and Shane Warne
Shane Warne
Shane Keith Warne is a former Australian international cricketer widely regarded as one of the greatest bowlers in the history of the game. In 2000, he was selected by a panel of cricket experts as one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Century, the only specialist bowler selected in the quintet...
, Laxman apparently decided that he would return to domestic cricket, rather than continue playing as opener, a role which he believed did not suit him. As a result, Laxman was out of the Test team for nearly a year. He was recalled in late 2000, and also found a spot in the side for the home series against Australia in 2001. Laxman is a slow runner between wickets and he is one of the few players who have played 100 Tests but have never played in the Cricket World Cup
Cricket World Cup
The ICC Cricket World Cup is the premier international championship of men's One Day International cricket. The event is organised by the sport's governing body, the International Cricket Council , with preliminary qualification rounds leading up to a finals tournament which is held every four years...
.
Australia's tour of India
Laxman's career changed dramatically in the home series against Australia. In the first Test at Mumbai, Laxman made 20 and 12, as the entire Indian batting line-up, with the exception of Sachin TendulkarSachin Tendulkar
Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar is an Indian cricketer widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket. He is the leading run-scorer and century maker in Test and one-day international cricket. He is the only male player to score a double century in the history of ODI cricket...
, capitulated, leading to a 10-wicket defeat. This was Australia's 16th consecutive Test win and extended their own world record. In the next Test, however, Laxman shot to fame with an extraordinary Test
Test cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
innings of 281 in the second innings (following on) against Australia
Australian cricket team
The Australian cricket team is the national cricket team of Australia. It is the joint oldest team in Test cricket, having played in the first Test match in 1877...
at Eden Gardens
Eden Gardens
Eden Gardens is a cricket ground in Kolkata , India. It is the home of the Bengal cricket team and the Indian Premier League's Kolkata Knight Riders, as well as being a Test and One Day International ground. It is the largest cricket stadium in India by seating capacity...
, when under tremendous pressure and with Australia looking set for a crushing 17th win in a row, he broke Sunil Gavaskar
Sunil Gavaskar
Sunil Manohar "Sunny" Gavaskar is a former cricketer who played during the 1970s and 1980s for Bombay and India. Widely regarded as one of the greatest opening batsmen in cricket history, Gavaskar set world records during his career for the most Test runs and most Test centuries scored by any...
's long standing Indian Test record score of 236*. This remained the highest ever by an Indian until it was eclipsed by Virender Sehwag
Virender Sehwag
Virender Sehwag , affectionately known as Viru, the Nawab of Najafgarh, or the Zen master of modern cricket, is one of the leading batsmen in the Indian cricket team. Sehwag is an aggressive right-handed opening batsman and a part-time right-arm off-spin bowler...
's triple ton against Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
in Multan
Multan
Multan , is a city in the Punjab Province of Pakistan and capital of Multan District. It is located in the southern part of the province on the east bank of the Chenab River, more or less in the geographic centre of the country and about from Islamabad, from Lahore and from Karachi...
in March 2004. The innings also contributed to a record partnership of 376 with Rahul Dravid
Rahul Dravid
Rahul Sharad Dravid , is a cricketer in the Indian national team, of which he has been a regular member since 1996. He was appointed as the captain of the Indian cricket team in October 2005 and resigned from the post in September 2007. Dravid was honoured as one of the top-five Wisden Cricketers...
who made 180 and together they survived the whole 4th day. Laxman's performance was of enormous consequence: India had been on the brink of an innings defeat but went on to win the Test and the series, denying Steve Waugh
Steve Waugh
Stephen Rodger "Steve" Waugh, AO is a former Australian cricketer and fraternal twin of cricketer Mark Waugh. A right-handed batsman, he was also a successful medium-pace bowler...
conquest of the "final frontier". This was only the third time in the history of cricket that a team had managed to win a Test after being forced to follow on. It has become one of the most celebrated tales of Indian cricket, and the innings is ranked the sixth best Test innings ever by Wisden Cricketers' Almanack. At the time, the pitch was taking significant turn, and to negate Laxman's free scoring, Australian leg spin
Leg spin
Leg spin is a type of spin bowling in the sport of cricket. A leg spinner bowls right-arm with a wrist spin action, causing the ball to spin from right to left in the cricket pitch, at the point of delivery. When the ball bounces, the spin causes the ball to deviate sharply from right to left, that...
ner Shane Warne
Shane Warne
Shane Keith Warne is a former Australian international cricketer widely regarded as one of the greatest bowlers in the history of the game. In 2000, he was selected by a panel of cricket experts as one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Century, the only specialist bowler selected in the quintet...
pitched his deliveries into the footmarks outside leg stump. However, such was Laxman's play that he consistently drove the ball through long on for boundaries against the spin, something that is considered to be technically dangerous. When Warne attempted to stop Laxman from scoring by defensively stationing most of the fielders on the leg side (leg theory
Leg theory
Leg theory is a bowling tactic in the sport of cricket. The term leg theory is somewhat archaic and seldom used any more, but the basic tactic still plays a part in modern cricket....
) and bowling outside leg stump, Laxman proceeded to skip down the pitch and drive Warne inside-out through the vacant off side, hitting through the line of a substantially turning ball. Warne later admitted that he was clueless as to how to stop Laxman.
Laxman then cemented his place both in the Test and one day teams for a few years. He has continued to perform well against Australia, especially during India's tour of Australia in 2003–04, in which he hit three ODI and two Test centuries. One of his centuries, his 148 in the second Test at Adelaide, came in a triple century partnership with Dravid. India won the Test, which was their first Test victory in Australia in two decades. His innings 178 at Sydney also came in a triple century partnership, on this occasion with Sachin Tendulkar. For this reason, Ian Chappell
Ian Chappell
Ian Michael Chappell is a former cricketer who played for South Australia and Australia. He captained Australia between 1971 and 1975 before taking a central role in the breakaway World Series Cricket organisation...
described him as Very Very Special Laxman.
Decline of form
However, Laxman's form was on the decline since the series against Australia. Beginning with the series in Pakistan in 2004, Laxman had only Test centuries to his credit, with one coming against a weak Zimbabwe side. He struggled against his favourite opponents Australia in the home series in October–November 2004, although his 69 in the final Test at Mumbai helped India record a consolation victory. Laxman was dropped after scoring a duck in the first Test against England at Mumbai in March 2006. He regained his place for the tour of the West Indies in place of the injured Tendulkar, and made a hundred in the third Test. In ODI cricket, Laxman was left out persistently since Greg ChappellGreg Chappell
Gregory Stephen Chappell MBE is a former cricketer who captained Australia between 1975 and 1977 and then joined the breakaway World Series Cricket organisation, before returning to the Australian captaincy in 1979, a position he held until his retirement 1983...
took over as coach in mid-2005, mainly on account of his slow ground fielding and running between the wickets; Laxman is a highly-regarded close-catching fielder in stationary positions but in ODIs, these positions are generally disused except for the opening phases of the match, and players otherwise have to patrol substantial spaces and retrieve balls. Another reason was a perception that his batting is too one paced for ODI cricket and that he lacks the ability to score at a high rate as required when the batting team has the momentum, or in the closing stages of the innings. This was despite his superb form in Australia and Pakistan in early 2004, when he made four centuries in 14 games, including three in a week in the VB Series in Australia.
Return to form
In December 2005, Laxman helped India to victory against Sri Lanka with a fine century. In June 2006, Laxman again rescued India from a difficult position against the West Indies with a gritty century. In November 2006, he was selected in the test squad for India's tour of South Africa. In the first test in Johannesburg Laxman scored 73 in the second innings to help India claim a historic 123 run win. In the 2007 tour of England Laxman produced three good innings, two of which were half-centuries and a vital 39 that helped India draw the first test at Lords. He passed the 5000 run landmark in the first day of the final test.After the tests he joined Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
as their overseas player in place of Brad Hodge
Brad Hodge
Bradley John Hodge is an Australian and Victorian cricketer. He attended St Bede's College in Mentone, Victoria. He is a right hand batsman who bats in the middle order, as well as a part time right arm off spin bowler....
. He played in five games of the county championship and showed glimpses of his sublime batting. In their final County Championship game of 2007, against Surrey at the Oval, Laxman scored a century in the second innings which Lancashire were chasing 489 to win. They just missed out by 25 runs and subsequently lost the Championship to Sussex. His performance for Lancashire was good with 380 runs scored in 5 matches at an average of 54.28 with 2 centuries and 2 half-centuries
In India's home series against Pakistan in 2007, V.V.S. Laxman once again showed his importance to the team with a disciplined batting performance in the 1st Test. He then followed that innings of 72 in the first test with 112 in the second test. This ensured his place on the tour of Australia which would be his 3rd to that country.
Laxman's good form was continued in the 2007/08 series against Australia with him scoring 109 against Australia on the second day of the controversial Sydney Test to put India back into the contest. It was his 12th hundred in Test matches, and his 5th against Australia. It was also his third consecutive century at SCG
Sydney Cricket Ground
The Sydney Cricket Ground is a sports stadium in Sydney in Australia. It is used for Australian football, Test cricket, One Day International cricket, some rugby league and rugby union matches and is the home ground for the New South Wales Blues cricket team and the Sydney Swans of the Australian...
, giving him an average well above 90 at the venue. He followed this up with a gritty knock in Perth
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
, assisted by Mahendra Singh Dhoni
Mahendra Singh Dhoni
Mahendra Singh Dhoni is an Indian cricketer and the current captain of the Indian national cricket team. He made his One Day International debut in December 2004 against Bangladesh, and a year later played his first Test, this time against Sri Lanka.Under his captaincy, India won the 2007 ICC...
and RP Singh, which set India up to record a historic and unexpected victory at a ground on which previously no Asian team had won.
Laxman was supposed to replace Adam Voges
Adam Voges
Adam Charles Voges is an Australian cricketer. In domestic cricket, he plays for the Western Warriors. He is a right-hand batsman and part-time left-arm orthodox bowler.-Early career:...
for Nottinghamshire but this move was vetoed by the BCCI due to the fact that there are players from the rival Indian Cricket League
Indian Cricket League
The Indian Cricket League was a private cricket league funded by Zee Entertainment Enterprises that operated between 2007 and 2009 in India...
playing for Nottinghamshire. Laxman also reached 6000 runs in the Sri Lankan series in August 2008.
During the Third Test against Australia at the Feroz Shah Kotla
Feroz Shah Kotla
The Feroz Shah Kotla or Kotla was originally a fortress built by Sultan Ferozshah Tughlaq to house his version of Delhi city called Ferozabad. A pristine polished sandstone pillar from the 3rd century B.C...
in Delhi in November 2008, Laxman scored an unbeaten 200 in the first innings with characteristic use of his wrists and flicks through the leg side. In the same innings, Gautam Gambhir
Gautam Gambhir
Gautam Gambhir is an Indian cricketer, a batsman. He has been a member of the Indian national cricket team since 2003 and 2004...
scored 206, Laxman and Gambhir becoming the first pair of batsmen to score double-centuries in the same innings for India, and the first to do so against Australia. He made an unbeaten 59 in the second innings and was named man of the match.
In 2009, Laxman continues to be in top form. He had scored 76 and 124 in the 2nd Test at Napier in New Zealand. In 2010, in a Test match against South Africa held in Kolkata
Kolkata
Kolkata , formerly known as Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, it was the commercial capital of East India...
, he scored 143 in a record stand for the seventh wicket with MS Dhoni. He passed 7000 Test runs during the innings. The test was eventually won by India in the last 10 minutes of the match, which helped India draw the series and remain the world Number 1 team.
Laxman helped India to level the series with Sri Lanka in August 2010 when he hit 103 not out in the run-chase, resulting in a five-wicket win in the Third Test. He was awarded the Man of the Match.
In October, he once again turned around another match that appeared headed for a comfortable Australian victory, in the First Test in Mohali. Laxman was suffering with a back problem and needed Suresh Raina as his runner, and the Indians had collapsed to 124/8 in pursuit of 216. He and paceman Ishant Sharma
Ishant Sharma
Ishant Sharma is an Indian cricketer. He is a right arm fast medium bowler. He has a high arm delivery action and is not a swinger of the ball but depends a lot on pace and movement off the seam....
put on 81 to take the score to 205 before Sharma fell. Last man Pragyan Ojha
Pragyan Ojha
Pragyan Prayish Ojha is an Indian cricketer. Debuting in first class cricket in 2004/05, Ojha is a left-arm spinner who has represented India at under-19 level....
then managed to survive as the hosts completed a one-wicket win. Laxman ended on 73 not out. He also helped India recover from 15/5 against New Zealand in Ahmedabad in 2010 and the match was drawn. Once again he helped India to a historic win at Durban. India were struggling at 94–5 when he and M.S. Dhoni put on a little partnership. He played intensely with the tail to help India get a lead of 302. He was awarded the Man of the Match for his match-winning 96.
Test Cricket
| Batting | Fielding | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opposition | Matches | Runs | Average | High score | 100s / 50s | Catches | |
| Australia Australian cricket team The Australian cricket team is the national cricket team of Australia. It is the joint oldest team in Test cricket, having played in the first Test match in 1877... |
25 | 2279 | 55.58 | 281 | 6 / 11 | 30 | |
| Bangladesh Bangladeshi cricket team The Bangladesh national cricket team is a national cricket team representing Bangladesh. The team is administered by the Bangladesh Cricket Board . Bangladesh is a full member of the International Cricket Council with Test and One Day International status... |
3 | 117 | 39 | 69* | 0 / 1 | 1 | |
| England | 17 | 766 | 30.64 | 75 | 0 / 6 | 19 | |
| New Zealand New Zealand cricket team The New Zealand cricket team, nicknamed the Black Caps, are the national cricket team representing New Zealand. They played their first in 1930 against England in Christchurch, New Zealand, becoming the fifth country to play Test cricket. It took the team until 1955–56 to win a Test, against the... |
10 | 818 | 58.42 | 124* | 2 / 6 | 10 | |
| Pakistan Pakistani cricket team The Pakistan cricket team is the national cricket team of Pakistan. Pakistan, represented by the Pakistan Cricket Board , is a full member of the International Cricket Council, and thus participates in , and cricket matches.... |
15 | 775 | 43.05 | 112* | 1 / 6 | 15 | |
| South Africa South African cricket team The South African national cricket team represent South Africa in international cricket. They are administrated by Cricket South Africa.South Africa is a full member of the International Cricket Council, also known as ICC, with Test and One Day International, or ODI, status... |
19 | 976 | 37.53 | 143* | 1 / 6 | 18 | |
| Sri Lanka Sri Lankan cricket team The Sri Lankan cricket team is the national cricket team of Sri Lanka. The team first played international cricket in 1926–27, and were later awarded Test status in 1981, which made Sri Lanka the eighth Test cricket playing nation... |
13 | 900 | 47.36 | 104 | 2 / 8 | 11 | |
| West Indies West Indian cricket team The West Indian cricket team, also known colloquially as the West Indies or the Windies, is a multi-national cricket team representing a sporting confederation of 15 mainly English-speaking Caribbean countries, British dependencies and non-British dependencies.From the mid 1970s to the early 1990s,... |
21 | 1652 | 59.00 | 176* | 4 / 11 | 12 | |
| Zimbabwe Zimbabwean cricket team The Zimbabwean cricket team is a national cricket team representing Zimbabwe. It is administrated by Zimbabwe Cricket... |
6 | 280 | 40 | 140 | 1 / 0 | 12 | |
| Overall | 129 | 8563 | 47.30 | 281 | 17 / 55 | 128 | |
Man-of-the-match awards (Test matches)
| Season | Opponent | Ground | Record |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000/01 | Australia Australian cricket team The Australian cricket team is the national cricket team of Australia. It is the joint oldest team in Test cricket, having played in the first Test match in 1877... |
Eden Gardens Eden Gardens Eden Gardens is a cricket ground in Kolkata , India. It is the home of the Bengal cricket team and the Indian Premier League's Kolkata Knight Riders, as well as being a Test and One Day International ground. It is the largest cricket stadium in India by seating capacity... , Kolkata Kolkata Kolkata , formerly known as Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, it was the commercial capital of East India... |
1st Innings: 59 2nd Innings: 281 |
| 2002 | West Indies | Queenspark, Port of Spain Port of Spain Port of Spain, also written as Port-of-Spain, is the capital of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago and the country's third-largest municipality, after San Fernando and Chaguanas. The city has a municipal population of 49,031 , a metropolitan population of 128,026 and a transient daily population... |
1st Innings: 69* 2nd Innings: 74 |
| 2008 | Australia Australian cricket team The Australian cricket team is the national cricket team of Australia. It is the joint oldest team in Test cricket, having played in the first Test match in 1877... |
Feroz Shah Kotla Feroz Shah Kotla The Feroz Shah Kotla or Kotla was originally a fortress built by Sultan Ferozshah Tughlaq to house his version of Delhi city called Ferozabad. A pristine polished sandstone pillar from the 3rd century B.C... , Delhi Delhi Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census... |
1st Innings: 200* 2nd Innings: 59* |
| 2010 | Sri Lanka | P. Saravanamuttu Stadium, Colombo Colombo Colombo is the largest city of Sri Lanka. It is located on the west coast of the island and adjacent to Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte, the capital of Sri Lanka. Colombo is often referred to as the capital of the country, since Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte is a satellite city of Colombo... |
1st Innings: 56 2nd Innings: 103* |
| 2010/11 | South African South African cricket team The South African national cricket team represent South Africa in international cricket. They are administrated by Cricket South Africa.South Africa is a full member of the International Cricket Council, also known as ICC, with Test and One Day International, or ODI, status... |
Kingsmead Cricket Ground, Durban Durban Durban is the largest city in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal and the third largest city in South Africa. It forms part of the eThekwini metropolitan municipality. Durban is famous for being the busiest port in South Africa. It is also seen as one of the major centres of tourism... |
1st Innings: 38 2nd Innings: 96 |
| 2011/12 | West Indies | Eden Gardens Eden Gardens Eden Gardens is a cricket ground in Kolkata , India. It is the home of the Bengal cricket team and the Indian Premier League's Kolkata Knight Riders, as well as being a Test and One Day International ground. It is the largest cricket stadium in India by seating capacity... , Kolkata Kolkata Kolkata , formerly known as Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, it was the commercial capital of East India... |
1st Innings: 176* |
Man-of-the-series awards (Test match series)
| Season | Opponent | Ref |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 | New Zealand New Zealand cricket team The New Zealand cricket team, nicknamed the Black Caps, are the national cricket team representing New Zealand. They played their first in 1930 against England in Christchurch, New Zealand, becoming the fifth country to play Test cricket. It took the team until 1955–56 to win a Test, against the... |
279 runs at an average of 139.50, 2 catches (three match series) |
ODI performance
| Batting | Fielding | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opposition | Matches | Innings | Runs | Average | High score | 100s / 50s | Catches |
| Australia Australian cricket team The Australian cricket team is the national cricket team of Australia. It is the joint oldest team in Test cricket, having played in the first Test match in 1877... |
21 | 19 | 739 | 46.18 | 106* | 4 / 2 | |
| Bangladesh Bangladeshi cricket team The Bangladesh national cricket team is a national cricket team representing Bangladesh. The team is administered by the Bangladesh Cricket Board . Bangladesh is a full member of the International Cricket Council with Test and One Day International status... |
2 | 2 | 5 | 5.00 | 4 | 0 / 0 | |
| England | 8 | 8 | 143 | 17.87 | 33 | 0 / 0 | |
| Kenya | 3 | 3 | 95 | 31.66 | 79 | 0 / 1 | |
| New Zealand New Zealand cricket team The New Zealand cricket team, nicknamed the Black Caps, are the national cricket team representing New Zealand. They played their first in 1930 against England in Christchurch, New Zealand, becoming the fifth country to play Test cricket. It took the team until 1955–56 to win a Test, against the... |
10 | 10 | 182 | 18.2 | 60 | 0 / 1 | |
| Pakistan Pakistani cricket team The Pakistan cricket team is the national cricket team of Pakistan. Pakistan, represented by the Pakistan Cricket Board , is a full member of the International Cricket Council, and thus participates in , and cricket matches.... |
10 | 10 | 234 | 23.4 | 107 | 1 / 0 | 15 |
| South Africa South African cricket team The South African national cricket team represent South Africa in international cricket. They are administrated by Cricket South Africa.South Africa is a full member of the International Cricket Council, also known as ICC, with Test and One Day International, or ODI, status... |
3 | 3 | 27 | 22 | 9 | 0 / 0 | |
| Sri Lanka Sri Lankan cricket team The Sri Lankan cricket team is the national cricket team of Sri Lanka. The team first played international cricket in 1926–27, and were later awarded Test status in 1981, which made Sri Lanka the eighth Test cricket playing nation... |
6 | 6 | 185 | 37.00 | 87* | 0 / 1 | |
| UAE | 1 | 1 | 14 | 14.00 | 14 | 0 / 0 | |
| West Indies West Indian cricket team The West Indian cricket team, also known colloquially as the West Indies or the Windies, is a multi-national cricket team representing a sporting confederation of 15 mainly English-speaking Caribbean countries, British dependencies and non-British dependencies.From the mid 1970s to the early 1990s,... |
10 | 10 | 339 | 37.66 | 99 | 0 / 3 | |
| Zimbabwe Zimbabwean cricket team The Zimbabwean cricket team is a national cricket team representing Zimbabwe. It is administrated by Zimbabwe Cricket... |
12 | 11 | 375 | 37.5 | 131 | 1 / 2 | |
| Overall | 86 | 83 | 2338 | 30.76 | 281 | 6 / 10 | |
Man-of-the-match awards (ODIs)
| Date | Opponent | Venue | Record |
|---|---|---|---|
| 28 July 2001 | Sri Lanka Sri Lankan cricket team The Sri Lankan cricket team is the national cricket team of Sri Lanka. The team first played international cricket in 1926–27, and were later awarded Test status in 1981, which made Sri Lanka the eighth Test cricket playing nation... |
Premadasa Stadium, Colombo Colombo Colombo is the largest city of Sri Lanka. It is located on the west coast of the island and adjacent to Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte, the capital of Sri Lanka. Colombo is often referred to as the capital of the country, since Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte is a satellite city of Colombo... |
87* |
| 18 January 2004 | Australia Australian cricket team The Australian cricket team is the national cricket team of Australia. It is the joint oldest team in Test cricket, having played in the first Test match in 1877... |
Brisbane Cricket Ground Brisbane Cricket Ground The Brisbane Cricket Ground, commonly known as The Gabba, is a major sports stadium in Brisbane, the capital of Queensland. It is named after the suburb of Woolloongabba, in which it is located.... , Brisbane Brisbane Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of... |
103* |
| 24 January 2004 | Zimbabwe | Adelaide Oval Adelaide Oval The Adelaide Oval is a sports ground in Adelaide, South Australia, located in the parklands between the Central Business District and North Adelaide... , Adelaide Adelaide Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million... |
131 |
| 24 March 2004 | Pakistan | Gaddafi Stadium Gaddafi Stadium Gaddafi Stadium is a cricket ground in Lahore, Pakistan. It was designed by Daghestani-born architect and engineer Nasreddin Murat-Khan who also designed Lahore's Minar-e-Pakistan and constructed by Mian Abdul Khaliq and Company in 1959. Following the ground's renovation for the 1996 Cricket World... , Lahore Lahore Lahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a... |
107 |