VVS Laxman

Personal information
Full name	Vangipurapu Venkata Sai Laxman
Nickname	Very Very Special
Batting	Right-handed
Bowling	Right-arm off spin
International information
National side	India
Test debut (cap 209)	20 November 1996 v South Africa
Last Test	6 Nov - 10 Nov 2011 v West Indies
ODI debut (cap 112)	9 April 1998 v Zimbabwe
Last ODI	3 December 2006 v South Africa
Domestic team information
Years	Team
1992 – present	Hyderabad
2007, 2009	Lancashire (squad no. 5, 26)
2008–2010	Deccan Chargers
2011	Kochi Tuskers Kerala
Career statistics
Competition Test ODI FC LA Matches 128 86 255 173 Runs scored 8504 2,338 18,951 5,078 Batting average 46.73 30.76 52.35 34.54 100s/50s 17/55 6/10 53/94 9/28 Top score 281 131 353 131 Balls bowled 324 42 1,835 698 Wickets 2 0 22 8 Bowling average 63.00 – 34.27 68.50 5 wickets in innings 0 0 0 0 10 wickets in match 0 n/a 0 n/a Best bowling 1/2 0/5 3/11 2/42 Catches/stumpings 127/– 39/– 266/1 74/–
Source: espncricinfo, 11 July 2011

Vangipurapu Venkata Sai Laxman (Template:Lang-te) (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 tests 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.

Personal life

Laxman's parents, father Shantaram and mother Satyabhama, are doctors. Laxman studied at Little Flower High School, 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 Africa 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.

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 Tendulkar, 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 spinner 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.

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 Chappell 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 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.

Quotes

"If you get Dravid, great. If you get Sachin, brilliant. If you get Laxman, it's a miracle." Brett Lee repeats the words of wisdom of his former captain, Steve Waugh Sep 27, 2004.

Achievements

Main article: List of international cricket centuries by V. V. S. Laxman

Test Cricket

		Batting				Fielding
Opposition	Matches	Runs	Average	High score	100s / 50s	Catches
Australia	25	2279	55.58	281	6 / 11	30
Bangladesh	3	117	39	69*	0 / 1	1
England	17	766	30.64	75	0 / 6	19
New Zealand	10	818	58.42	124*	2 / 6	10
Pakistan	15	775	43.05	112*	1 / 6	15
South Africa	19	976	37.53	143*	1 / 6	18
Sri Lanka	13	900	47.36	104	2 / 8	11
West Indies	21	1652	59.00	176*	4 / 11	12
Zimbabwe	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	Eden Gardens, Kolkata	1st Innings: 59 2nd Innings: 281
2002	West Indies	Queenspark, Port of Spain	1st Innings: 69* 2nd Innings: 74
2008	Australia	Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi	1st Innings: 200* 2nd Innings: 59*
2010	Sri Lanka	P. Saravanamuttu Stadium, Colombo	1st Innings: 56 2nd Innings: 103*
2010/11	South African	Kingsmead Cricket Ground, Durban	1st Innings: 38 2nd Innings: 96
2011/12	West Indies	Eden Gardens, Kolkata	1st Innings: 176*

Man-of-the-series awards (Test match series)

Season	Opponent	Ref
2003	New Zealand	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	21	19	739	46.18	106*	4 / 2
Bangladesh	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	10	10	182	18.2	60	0 / 1
Pakistan	10	10	234	23.4	107	1 / 0	15
South Africa	3	3	27	22	9	0 / 0
Sri Lanka	6	6	185	37.00	87*	0 / 1
UAE	1	1	14	14.00	14	0 / 0
West Indies	10	10	339	37.66	99	0 / 3
Zimbabwe	12	11	375	37.5	131	1 / 2
Overall	86	83	2338	30.76	131	6 / 10

Man-of-the-match awards (ODIs)

Date	Opponent	Venue	Record
28 July 2001	Sri Lanka	Premadasa Stadium, Colombo	87*
18 January 2004	Australia	Brisbane Cricket Ground, Brisbane	103*
24 January 2004	Zimbabwe	Adelaide Oval, Adelaide	131
24 March 2004	Pakistan	Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore	107

External links

• Cricinfo Player Profile: V V S Laxman