da bet nacional： VVS Laxman is hardly the kind of batsman who gets excited over suchminor accomplishments like reaching a century
Sankhya Krishnan14-Oct-2000VVS Laxman is hardly the kind of batsman who gets excited over suchminor accomplishments like reaching a century. The Hyderabadi seems tobe onto something big here at the Wankhede Stadium after battingthrough the second day of the Irani Trophy match against Mumbai toremain unconquered on 165. A quintessential big innings man, Laxmanresuscitated a Rest of India innings in the throes of decay at 29/3early in the morning with the able support of Mohd. Kaif. At close,Rest were smugly placed at 299/4, a lead of 39 that promises to widensubstantially tomorrow.Laxman made Mumbai pay for a chance that went abegging off the bowlingof medium pacer Paras Mhambrey. Nilesh Kulkarni dropped the sharpchance at second slip when the batsman failed to get hold of anattempted drive with his score on 73. Kulkarni lulled Laxman intoanother false stroke a bit later, an intended flick off his legsresulting in a leading edge which flew just over cover.That apart, Laxman gave the Mumbai attack little encouragement,posting his century in exactly four hours. Laxman’s hundred, hissecond in consecutive innings at the Wankhede Stadium, following hiscentury in the Ranji Trophy final in April, was scored off 180 ballsand included 14 boundaries. Kulkarni and Pawar bore the brunt ofLaxman’s assault, the Hyderabadi’s punitive blade taking full toll ofany lapses in length as he drove, cut and pulled with studied ease.The only impediment to Laxman’s at the wicket was a touch of cramplate in the day but a quick rub from the physio had his blood pumpingagain.As the morning’s play commenced, Mumbai would have been keen todislodge Murali Kartik from the crease and expose the middle orderwithout further ado. They successfully completed that niggling task inthe fifth over of the day when Kartik flailed at Santosh Saxena andSamir Dighe gathered the resulting edge with little fuss. Laxmanlooked in ominously good touch, getting his timing right and findingthe gaps soon with unerring precision. With the batsmen in littleanxiety against the seamers, Dighe decided to introduce the doublespin attack of Kulkarni and Pawar in the 16th over of the innings.With only one specialist bat to follow in Jacob Martin, both batsmenseemed aware of their responsibilities and took their time to gaugethe purchase off the wicket for the spinners. A cat and mouse gamedeveloped as the spinners attacked with a close cordon and the batsmenpatiently awaited the loose balls. There certainly was something inthe wicket to exploit as Pawar and Kulkarni got the ball to bite off agood length spot and surprise both batsman and keeper. Laxmancontinued to play for the most part with a straight bat down theground, cutting out any undue risks. Offspinner Ramesh Powar replacedPawar from the pavilion end in the 25th over without really posing anydiscomfort. Dighe swapped ends interminably for all three spinnersthroughout the day but the breakthrough was far from forthcoming.Kaif provided an able foil to Laxman until his dismissal off the lastball before tea. Kaif’s fifty had come earlier in the session off 144balls and the compact looking right hander handled the three spinnerswith assurance until the ball that got him out. On the stroke of tea,Kaif’s sound judgement momentarily deserted him as he tried to cut aPawar delivery that was pitched too full for the stroke and lookedback to see his stumps in a mess. His knock of 75, lasting a shadeover four hours, was made from 193 balls and included ten boundaries.The wicket and the subsequent 20 minutes of rest in the cool environsof the pavilion must have given some succour to the home side. Butthat little flicker of hope was quickly and ruthlessly smothered byLaxman and Jacob Martin in the final session. Martin was off theblocks with a extra cover drive off Kulkarni in the first over afterthe break and quickly made himself comfortable at the crease.Mumbai used their last throw of the dice by summoning the new ball inthe 90th over but Laxman immediately got Saxena away to the midwicketboundary, so symbolic of the inadequacy of all the resources thatMumbai marshalled. The only glimmer of hope is for Laxman’sconcentration to be fatally impaired by his enforced absence from thecrease until play gets underway tomorrow, something that did happenwhen he resumed on 346 against Karnataka on the third day of the Ranjisemifinal last season.