When Sachin Tendulkar’s pep talk inspired VVS Laxman’s epic knock against Australia

Former India batsman VVS Laxman has a formidable record against Australia. His epic 281 against Austrlia at the famous Eden Gardens Test is part of the cricketing folklore.

After that epic knock, Laxman went on to establish himself as the Fab four of Indian cricket along with Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly. He amassed a total of 2434 runs from 29 Tests at an impressive average of 49.67. Six of Laxman’s 17 Test centuries came against Australia.

Laxman’s real tryst with Australia was not in 2001, rather it was two years ago when India toured Australia for a three match Test series in 1999-2000. Though India were drubbed 0-3 in Tests, Laxman emerged as one of the few positives for India. He ended the Border-Gavaskar Trophy with an epic 167 at the Sydney Cricket Ground. Before the SCG Test, Laxman had scored only 626 runs from 16 Tests. He was full of promise but wasn’t able to convert it into something substantial. Laxman received a pep-talk from none other than Tendulkar ahead of the final match of the series which triggered a huge turnaround in his career.

“Laxman, I’ll tell you one thing. You are blessed with so much talent. You can see the ball a split second earlier than me. God has given you exceptional talent which you are not able to understand. God gave me minimum talent, which I am maximizing. I have four gears in my batting defence, push, drive and loft. I understand the conditions and use my logic and perform accordingly,” Sachin said.

The Master Blaster explained to Laxman the gift of timing that he possessed. Sachin’s pep talk triggered the beginning of Laxman’s legendary career for India. Laxman finished as the fourth-highest run-getter for India in Tests behind Tendulkar, Dravid and Sunil Gavaskar with 8781 runs at an average of 45.97.