V. V. S. Laxman

Vangipurappu Venkata Sai Laxman pronunciation (help·info) (born November 1, 1974, in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India), better known as VVS Laxman, is an Indian cricketer. Laxman represents Hyderabad in domestic cricket and has played for Lancashire in the English county cricket competition. 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.

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 skillful 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 in stationary catching positions, typically fields the slips cordon or in a bat pad position.

Laxman is noted most for his batting against Australia, in both tests and one day internationals. As of November 8, 2008, he has scored 6 out of his 13 test hundreds, and 4 out of his 6 ODI hundreds against Australia. He has two double-hundreds in tests, both of them against Australia, including his personal best of 281 at Kolkata. He has also scored 10 fifties in tests and 2 in ODIs against Australia.
V. V. S Laxman
India cricket team 


Personal information
Full name Vangipurappu Venkata Sai Laxman
Nickname Very Very Special
Born 1 November 1974 (age 34)
 Hyderabad, India
Batting style Right-handed
Bowling style Right-arm off spin
International information
Test debut (cap 209) 20 November 1996: v South Africa
ODI debut (cap 112) 9 April 1998: v Zimbabwe
Domestic team information
Years Team
1992 – present Hyderabad
2007, 2009 Lancashire (squad no. 5, 26)
Career statistics
 Tests ODI FC LA
Matches 100 86 215 167
Runs scored 6,381 2,338 16,090 4,944
Batting average 45.25 30.76 52.07 34.57
100s/50s 13/37 6/10 46/73 9/27
Top score 281 131 353 131

Balls bowled 324 42 1,751 698
Wickets 2 0 21 8
Bowling average 63.00 – 34.66 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 105/– 39/– 226/1 73/–
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.
 
An innings-by-innings breakdown of Laxman's Test match batting career, showing runs scored (red bars) and the average of the last ten innings (blue line).

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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. 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, he broke Sunil Gavaskar's long standing Indian Test record score of 236*.[1] 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.[2] 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 four 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, 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, once again, Dravid. India won the Test, which was their first Test victory in Australia in two decades. His sublime innings of 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.

[edit]
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 favorite 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 poor fielding, but also a perception that his batting is too one paced for ODI cricket. 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.

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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[3]

In India's home series against Pakistan in 2007, VVS Laxman once again showed his importance to the team with a disciplined batting performance in the 1st Test[4]. He then followed that innings of 72 in the first test with 112 in the second test.[5]. This ensured his place on the tour of Australia which would be his 3rd to that country.

Laxman's good form continued in the 2007/08 series against Australia with him scoring a languid 109 against Australia on the second day of the controversial Sydney Test. 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 league ICL. 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. He made an unbeaten 59 in the second innings and was named man of the match.

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Personal life

Laxman's parents, father Shantaram and mother Satyabhama, are doctors[6]. Laxman himself was a one-time medical student but later chose cricket over a career in medicine. He married G.R Sailaja, who is a post-graduate in computer applications, in February 2004[6]. The couple welcomed a son, Sarvajit, in March 2007.

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Centuries at a glance

Test Centuries
167 v Australia Sydney 2 Jan 2000
281 v Australia Kolkata 11 Mar 2001
130 v West Indies St John's 10 May 2002
154* v West Indies Kolkata 30 Oct 2002
104* v New Zealand Mohali 16 Oct 2003
148 v Australia Adelaide 12 Dec 2003
178 v Australia Sydney 2–3 Jan 2004
140 v Zimbabwe Bulawayo 13 Sep 2005
104 v Sri Lanka Ahmedabad 18 Dec 2005
100 v West Indies Basseterre 22 Jun 2006
112* v Pakistan Kolkata 30 Nov 2007
109 v Australia Sydney 2 Jan 2008
200* v Australia Delhi 29–30 Oct 2008

ODI Centuries
101 v Australia Margao 6 Apr 2001
102 v Australia Gwalior 26 Oct 2003
103* v Australia Brisbane 18 Jan 2004
106* v Australia Sydney 22 Jan 2004
131 v Zimbabwe Adelaide 24 Jan 2004
107 v Pakistan Lahore 24 Mar 2004