'Rahul was really upset the way Sourav got run out' - VVS Laxman recalls memorable partnership in 2003 Adelaide Test
Former Indian batsman VVS Laxman has revealed that Rahul Dravid was in a daze when he joined him in the middle after Sourav Ganguly's run out in the 2003 Adelaide Test. The heroes of India's win at Eden Gardens in 2001 were involved in another triple-century partnership after their captain's unfortunate dismissal.
The artistic batsman made this disclosure while reliving India's memorable win in that Test in a recent edition of the Star Sports show Cricket Connected.
VVS Laxman was asked about his conversation with Rahul Dravid when he joined the latter in the middle. The former responded that the Indian vice-captain was in a confused state of mind, as he was responsible for Ganguly's run-out after a mix-up.
"When I joined Rahul when Sourav unfortunately got run out, the reaction of Rahul was he was still amazed, he was dazed when I walked in because of the fashion in which Sourav got run out."
VVS Laxman recalled having told Dravid to forget about the mishap and concentrate on the game ahead, as the latter was disturbed because of his involvement in the run-out.
"All I had to tell to Rahul was forget about what has happened and let us think about what we are going to do. Because he was really upset the way Sourav got run out."
VVS Laxman on his partnership with Rahul Dravid
VVS Laxman observed that the pair were not bogged down by pressure and played as per the merit of the deliveries.
"We had a good partnership by the end of the day and we tried to play our natural game. The best part about that partnership was even though there was scoreboard pressure, even though we were under a lot of stress and pressure but not once did we go into a shell."
He added that the partnership helped in gradually shifting the pressure from the Indians to the Aussies.
"Whenever the opportunity arose to hit a boundary, we took that opportunity. So, the run rate was also very healthy and suddenly the pressure slowly shifted on the Australians."
VVS Laxman signed off by recollecting that some of the Australian players told him they started to worry that a recurrence of their match-turning partnership from the Eden Gardens was around the corner.
"And when I spoke to some of them after the Test match, when we had a partnership of 100 or 150, slowly they were also thinking if it will be a repeat of Eden. We had a 300-run partnership and Rahul batted beautifully to get to his double-hundred."
Australia posted a mammoth 556 runs on the board in the first innings of the 2003 Adelaide Test. In reply, India was down in the dumps, with their score reading 85/4 after Sourav Ganguly was run out after a mix-up with Rahul Dravid.
Dravid and VVS Laxman then stitched together a massive 303-run partnership to help India get within 33 runs of the Aussie first-innings score. While the former top-scored for India with 233 runs, the latter contributed 148 runs in their partnership.
Ajit Agarkar then ran through the host batting lineup with a spell of 6/41, leaving India a target of 230 runs in the fourth innings. Rahul Dravid was again the principal architect of the run-chase with an unbeaten 72, as India achieved the target with four wickets in hand.