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Combine and Conquer

"This is the day that the Lord has made ,we will rejoice and be glad in it " 
Probably these were the lines that Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman would have sung on this very same day,a couple of decades ago.This was the day that had its impact on Indian cricket for a very long time.It wouldn't be exaggerating if i call this out as one of the best moments of life for every Indian cricket fan out there. This particular partnership changed the face of Indian cricket and the series as a whole revealed the fighting spirit that was imparted to Team India by Sourav Ganguly.

Eden gardens was filled with multitude of gloomy faces when Day 4 began, courtesy following on to a huge first innings deficit.Indians made a decent start to second innings with openers SS Das and Sadagopan Ramesh providing a decent start.Sachin didn't have a good match as a batsman,but Ganguly and Laxman did manage to weave a decent web in the middle order.By end of Day 3 ,India were struggling at a score of 254/4,still trying to surprass Aussies' first innings total.Dravid was batting at 7 ,while Laxman who already had a century was batting at 109. Adding fuel to the fire, Aussies opted for a new ball in the 9th over of the day.But none of these factors had its effect on the duo. They showcased a great resilience and never failed to punish the bad balls.
The gloomy faces gradually turned optimistic at the "City Of Joy".Every single run was cheered and by the mid of the day , Indian dressing room sensed a bit of opportunity to make some inroads into the match.But the end was not near.The intentions were clear as the duo continued to torment the formidable Aussie attack.In this process, VVS Laxman transcended Sunil Gavaskar's record of highest test match score by an Indian batsman,when he went past 236.On the other side , Dravid too batted beautifully. The elegance with which both of them were playing was a demonstration of a masterclass.Aussies were clueless , as they tried 9 different bowlers to break this partnership. The midas touch that Dravid and Laxman possessed turned the match in favour of India,as every effort taken by the Aussies went in vain.Laxman scored 281 ,while Dravid scored 180 in the process of stitching a match winning 376 run partnership.Team India was clearly inspired by the efforts of Dravid and Laxman as they came back and bowled Aussies' in fourth innings,thereby sealing a historic victory.This victory provided a much needed relief to Indian fans as they were despondent due to match fixing scandals.India went on to win the subsequent match at Chennai, sealing the Border Gavaskar Trophy..
These kind of matches not only lift the morale of a particular team,but also serves as a great amabssador for the longer format of the game..
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