Our Golden Squad Of Revenants

If the most pulse-quickening drama in sport is about rising from the ashes and rallying back from despair, India’s cricket history is studded with gems. The win at Brisbane’s Gabba in January showed how a precociously talented bunch of young cricketers summoned up the skills, fortified by unlimited courage, to overpower a formidable opponent. Perhaps, the DNA of this Ajinkya Rahane-led injury-ravaged Indian team that retained the Border Gavaskar Trophy—two years after defeating the Australians Down Under—mutated into being 20 years ago by an outfit that overcame great odds and stopped an Aussie juggernaut with an exhilarating show of ability and belief.

It all happened at the Eden Gardens from March 11-15, 2001. India became only the third team to win a Test after following-on. The Calcutta victory against Steve Waugh’s ‘invincibles’ ended their 16-match winning streak in Tests (in 1984, the mighty West Indies under Clive Lloyd had won 11 Tests on the trot). India went on to win the series 2-1 to deny Waugh his goal of winning at the ‘final frontier’. The by-now-fabled turnaround at the Eden gave players the belief nothing was impossible. The next generations, led by M.S. Dhoni and Virat Kohli, have built on this legacy.

At the turn of the 21st century, Indian cricket was emerging from the nadir of venality. As Australia, under Steve Waugh, decimated one team after another, India were rebuilding under a new captain, Sourav Ganguly. In India, with a crushing 10-wicket win at the Wankhede, the Aussies added one more scalp to their unbroken tally of wins.

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India’s 2001 home series against Australia and the recent tour Down Under were similar. Injuries to key players, youngsters awaiting maiden Test caps and relatively low cumulative experience made India look weak on paper. But Ganguly’s India plumbed reserves of skill and resolve to counter-attack.

If a belligerent Rishabh Pant helped India storm to a rec­ord 328-run chase at the Gabba, a young Harbhajan Singh resurrected his international career, bagging an incredible 32 wickets in three Tests against a great batting order. His haul included the first hattrick by an Indian bowler, at the Eden Gardens.

The Test will be remembered for the herculean Day 4 effort by V.V.S. Laxman and Rahul Dravid on an energy-sapping Calcutta day. Their 376-run partnership was a product of great skill and tenacity. Laxman batted for 10-and-a-half hours for a career-best 281. He was battling back pain and hadn’t slept well for seven days. Dravid (180) had the flu and cramped up in the third session on Day 4.

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The term ‘greatest’ is subjective, but the Eden win in 2001 was a huge milestone. Laxman, Harbhajan and Sachin Tendulkar, the three heroes of that famous win concur on the significance of the win against that Australian side. Current international teams have little to show in terms of quality batsmen who can bat long. Tim Paine’s side is not even a shadow of the one Waugh led. And with three-day finishes common in the longer format, Test wins like the one at the Eden will rank higher in the eyes, and minds, of purists.

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