The turnout was good. There was buzz and excitement in anticipation of the final day of an evenly-poised match. After Zaheer Khan’s catch, Laxman walked in at number seven, followed by his runner, Raina, to a warm reception from the crowd. An effortless single on his very first delivery towards deep midwicket region got him off the mark. After limbering up with four deliveries, he punched consecutive boundaries in Hauritz’s next over. Thereupon he kept the scorecard moving with a steady rotation of strike and occasional boundaries. Within a few overs the match looked within India’s reach until they lost three quick wickets, staggering at 124 for 8. Laxman showed no signs of getting bogged down and kept up the flow of runs. Ishant, on the other hand, channelling Jason Gillespie, showed a robust defence. A tense moment came two balls before lunch: a run-out apeal for Laxman. A long, anxious wait followed. The crowd erupted after reading “Not Out”.
Post lunch, he pulled the second delivery that he faced to reach 52* from 48 balls. He maintained a strike-rate of over hundred for a large part of his innings until towards the end when he had to refuse a few easy singles after Ishant’s discomfiture against Johnson. Crowd buzzed and applauded every run and after a while they quietened for a few minutes. Another twist came with Ishant’s wicket. Ojha, the number eleven, joined Laxman and survived four deliveries of that over. Laxman stayed calm, refused three singles off Johnson but couldn’t retain strike. An overthrow proved fatal and two byes down the leg side by Ojha channelled India to its narrowest victory in terms of wickets.
A great test match, which looked to be heading towards a draw till most part of the third day, came to an end. Albeit a draw would not have had any impact on the viewing experience as in the autumn and the wonderful spring.
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