When Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman stamped a record Duleep Trophy partnership, two months before Eden Gardens 2001

If one turns the clock back to 2001 in Indian cricket circles, two individuals and an iconic venue will almost always prop up for long discussions.

When VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid convened mid-pitch on day three of a tumultuous Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test at the Eden Gardens in March 2001, everything was on the line for Sourav Ganguly’s side. After slumping to a defeat against Australia in the first Test of the three-match series in Mumbai, India had allowed the visitors to wrest control within the first two days in Kolkata. Posting 445 in the first innings, Australia skittled India for 171 and enforced the follow-on. To regain the title, India had to tide the odds – only twice before had a team won after being asked to follow-on.

India had slipped to 202 for four before tea on Day 3 after Ganguly’s dismissal. In at 6, Dravid joined Laxman to see off the day at 254/4. The middle-order bulwarks soon wiped out Day 4 from Australia’s bowling map as they batted to 589/4 and set course for history. India eventually clinched an emphatic final-day win – a 171-run victory while at it – and thumped the Aussies in the final Test in Chennai.

Laxman’s 281 and Dravid’s 180 have remained epochal since, among the most recollected individual numbers in Indian cricket history. Their 376-run stand for the fifth wicket is the third-highest ever for an Indian Test pair, with the mark only crossed once since Kolkata 2001 (410 by Virender Sehwag and Dravid in 2006).

A Surat epic

Interestingly, the seeds of the Dravid-Laxman Kolkata classic in the excessive March heat were sown two months before, in faraway Surat, at the now-obscure Lalbhai Contractor Stadium. Batting for South Zone on January 19, 2001, in reply to West Zone’s 376 in a Duleep Trophy 2000/01 fixture, the superstar duo began their association for the third wicket after openers Sridharan Sriram (38) and Sadagoppan Ramesh (99) laid a solid 139-run platform.

No. 3 Laxman and Dravid in time stupefied a West Zone bowling attack led by current chief national selector, Ajit Agarkar. Batting for more than 92 across days two and three, Laxman racked up 217 off 282 deliveries with 25 fours and two sixes during his 404-minute stay. Meanwhile, Dravid went past 11,000 First-Class during his knock and crafted 188 from 292 balls (22×4, 1×6) in six hours and 15 minutes.

Rahul Dravid has ranked VVS Laxman’s 281 as the best Test knock ever played by an Indian. (Reuters)

Their 409-run association has remained the benchmark in the Duleep Trophy since and is still the only 400-plus run partnership in the history of the tournament since its inception in 1961-62.

Dravid, the former India captain and head coach, ended his First-Class career with 23794 in 298 matches, the third-most for an Indian behind Sunil Gavaskar and Sachin Tendulkar. Laxman, the marathon man, accounted for 19730 in 255 matches with 55 centuries.

Kolkata 2001 will be the most popular episode of the Indian stalwarts. But remember the Surat hotbed for the forging of that legendary Indian partnership.

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