VVS Laxman: An artist with no equal

His flick through mid-wicket made bowlers scratch their heads in disbelief. His punch off the back foot baffled all opposition captains. And his silken touch with the willow made us gape at him in utter disbelief.

VVS Laxman was indeed a ‘Very Very Special’ cricketer.

The legendary batsman played 134 Tests for India and scored 8,781 runs, at an average of 45.50, including 17 hundreds and 56 fifties. But the true value of his contribution goes beyond mere numbers.

Laxman played a majority of his career at No. 6, and had to rally around with the tail. In a career spanning 16 years, Laxman dissected bowling attacks across the world with the regal splendor of an artist.

He caressed the cricket ball and dispatched it with unmatched elegance. And in a star-studded batting lineup comprising of Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly, Laxman managed to carve a niche for himself with his resplendent stroke play.

Laxman was a man who made us feel that batting was just a mere extension of the limbs.

His 167 in Sydney was one for the connoisseurs of Test cricket. In a masterclass lasting 198 balls, Laxman dismantled the Australian bowling attack comprising of Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath and Brett Lee.

His 148 at the Adelaide Oval in 2003 helped India win a Test match in Australia for the first time in more than two decades.

And of course, no discussion on Laxman is complete without mentioning his ethereal 281 at the Eden Gardens in 2001. In what is considered by many as the greatest knock played by an Indian batsman in Test cricket, Laxman combined sublime artistry with brutal power and tore the Australian bowling attack to shreds.

His knock allowed India to register a win over Australia by 171 runs after being asked to follow on.

VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid at Eden Gardens

Laxman's performance not only gave the Indian team the confidence that they could bounce back from any situation, but it also proved that India no longer depended only on Sachin Tendulkar’s genius to win matches.

Laxman retired from the game in the year 2012. He had endured a poor series in Australia and had crossed 37 years of age, so he decided to walk away without any fanfare. He is, till today, India’s fourth highest run-scorer in the longest format of the game.

But more than anything else, Laxman was a man who made us feel that batting was just a mere extension of the limbs. Watching Laxman at his best was like watching a stream in full flow. It was pure, sublime and aesthetic.

As Murali Kartik very beautifully said, "If Sachin is the ‘God of Cricket', then VVS is the angel we all strive to be."

Also see - Live cricket score