Rewind: Kolkata Test 2001 (As it happened)

It has been 18 years today since one of the best Test matches of the generation was ever played. A hat-trick, then a follow-on and finally a coming from behind victory by the Indians led by Sourav Ganguly over the mighty Australians, CricTracker tributes the pioneers of the Kolkata Test victory, Rahul Sharad Dravid and Vangipurappu Venkata Sai Laxman through this article.

It was the second Test of the 2001 edition of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. India were 1-0 down after losing the Delhi Test and Steve Waugh’s men almost looked invincible on their bid to conquer the final frontier. A hat-trick from Harbhajan Singh the first innings was not enough to stop Australians to post a score of 445 and in return, India crashed down for 171 in 58.1 overs. A humiliating loss was on cards and Australia with a lead of 284 runs, dared India to set them a fighting total.

The Indian batting looked calm and composed in the second innings but wickets at regular intervals had them at 232-4. By the end of Day 3, India reached 254-4, still 30 runs behind with the last formidable pair of Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman out in the middle. Laxman had reached his century by the end of the day. With two more days to go and a series to save, the cricket world saw one of the greatest comebacks on Day 4 as Laxman and Dravid added 335 unbeaten runs to lift India to a respectable 589-4, a position from where the mental strength of the Indian team reached a new height.

Laxman was batting on 275, Dravid on 155 and the former recorded the then highest individual innings by an Indian in Test cricket and the record remained intact for 4 years till Virender Sehwag surpassed Laxman to score 309 in Multan in the year 2004.

Laxman was eventually out for 281 and Dravid, 180 before some late fireworks prompted the home team to 657 and Ganguly with his aggressive instinct declared the innings and asked Australia to chase a record 384, with barely two and a half sessions to go. Australians were going strong, but only till the 23rd over as excessive sledging from Kolkata crowd took the toll on Michael Slater. From 74-1 to 160-2 to 173-7 and finally 212 all-out, the Kolkata Test embarked a new generation of Indian cricketers, young and hot-blooded, ready to take on any team in the world, either home or away.

The Kolkata Test will always be remembered for the epic 281 by Laxman, an equally supportive 180 from Dravid, a comeback from Harbhajan (he was to leave for Canada to become a truck driver before the series) and the most important, a come from behind victory by the Indian team after following-on. Only 2 teams (India and England) have achieved this feat to date for a combined 3 times in 140 years. Unfortunately, the team on the receiving end was Australia in all cases.

Teams to win after following on:

Stats counter:

1. Only 2 batsmen, Hanif Mohammed and Brendon McCullum have scored triple centuries in the second innings. The highest individual score by an Indian in the second innings is 281 by VVS Laxman against Australia in 2001.
2. Till date, only two Indian bowlers have taken a hat-trick in Test cricket. They are Harbhajan Singh (vs Australia, 2001) and Irfan Pathan (vs Pakistan, 2006).