| Personal information | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Vangipurapu Venkata Sai Laxman | |||
| Born | 1 November 1974 Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India |
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| Nickname | Very Very Special | |||
| Batting style | Right-handed | |||
| Bowling style | Right-arm off spin | |||
| International information | ||||
| National side | India | |||
| Test debut (cap 209) | 20 November 1996 v South Africa | |||
| Last Test | 6 Nov - 10 Nov 2011 v West Indies | |||
| ODI debut (cap 112) | 9 April 1998 v Zimbabwe | |||
| Last ODI | 3 December 2006 v South Africa | |||
| Domestic team information | ||||
| Years | Team | |||
| 1992 – present | Hyderabad | |||
| 2007, 2009 | Lancashire (squad no. 5, 26) | |||
| 2008–2010 | Deccan Chargers | |||
| 2011 | Kochi Tuskers Kerala | |||
| Career statistics | ||||
| Competition | Test | ODI | FC | LA |
| Matches | 131 | 86 | 262 | 173 |
| Runs scored | 8629 | 2,338 | 19,368 | 5,078 |
| Batting average | 46.64 | 30.76 | 51.92 | 34.54 |
| 100s/50s | 17/55 | 6/10 | 54/96 | 9/28 |
| Top score | 281 | 131 | 353 | 131 |
| Balls bowled | 324 | 42 | 1,835 | 698 |
| Wickets | 2 | 0 | 22 | 8 |
| Bowling average | 63.00 | – | 34.27 | 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 | 132/– | 39/– | 274/1 | 74/– |
| Source: espncricinfo, 29 Dec 2011 | ||||
Vangipurapu Venkata Sai Laxman (Telugu: వంగిపురపు వెంకట సాయి లక్ష్మణ్) (born 1 November 1974), sometimes shortened to Venkatsai Laxman but generally known as V.V.S. Laxman, is an Indian cricketer. Laxman represents Hyderabad in domestic cricket and has played for Lancashire in English county cricket. Laxman is the great grand nephew of Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, former President of India. 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. In 2011, Laxman was awarded the Padma Shri award, India's fourth highest civilian award from the Government of India.
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 skilful 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 typically fields in the slips or in a bat pad position.
Laxman is noted most for his batting against Australia, in both tests and one day internationals. As of February 2010, he has scored 6 out of his 16 test hundreds, and 4 out of his 6 ODI hundreds against Australia. He has two double-centuries in tests, both of them against Australia: his personal best of 281 at Kolkata in 2000–01, and 200* at Feroz Shah Kotla in 2008–09.
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Laxman's parents, Shantaram and Satyabhama are doctors.[1] Laxman studied at Little Flower High School, Hyderabad. He then enrolled as a medical student but chose cricket over a career in medicine. He married G. R. Sailaja from Guntur, who is a post-graduate in computer applications on 16 February 2004.[1]
Laxman is known for his "wristy, willowy and sinuous" style, one which is technically fluid at its best. Laxman's on-side playing capability is comparable with his idol Mohammed Azharuddin's. The Australians once admitted that they did not know where to bowl to him.[2]
Laxman made his Test debut in 1996 against South Africa at Ahmedabad, scoring a fifty in the second innings of the match. 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 was picked up in the Indian squad for the Australian tour and made 167 in the third and final test 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. Laxman is widely criticized as a slow runner between the wickets and he is one of the few players who have played 100 Tests but have never played in the Cricket World Cup.
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. This was Australia's 16th consecutive Test win and extended their own world record. In the next Test, however, Laxman shot to fame with an extraordinary knock of 281 in the second innings (following on) against Australia at Eden Gardens, when under tremendous pressure and with Australia looking set for a crushing 17th win in a row, he broke Sunil Gavaskar's long standing Indian Test record score of 236*.[3] 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.[4] 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 for 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 2003–04, 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 Dravid. India won the Test, which was their first Test victory in Australia in two decades. His innings 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.
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 favourite 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 slow ground fielding and running between the wickets; Laxman is a highly-regarded close-catching fielder in stationary positions but in ODIs, these positions are generally disused except for the opening phases of the match, and players otherwise have to patrol substantial spaces and retrieve balls. Another reason was a perception that his batting is too one paced for ODI cricket and that he lacks the ability to score at a high rate as required when the batting team has the momentum, or in the closing stages of the innings. 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.
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[5]
In India's home series against Pakistan in 2007, V.V.S. Laxman once again showed his importance to the team with a disciplined batting performance in the 1st Test.[6] He then followed that innings of 72 in the first test with 112 in the second test.[7] This ensured his place on the tour of Australia which would be his 3rd to that country.
Laxman's good form was continued in the 2007/08 series against Australia with him scoring 109 against Australia on the second day of the controversial Sydney Test to put India back into the contest. 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 Indian Cricket League playing for Nottinghamshire. 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. In the same innings, Gautam Gambhir scored 206, Laxman and Gambhir becoming the first pair of batsmen to score double-centuries in the same innings for India, and the first to do so against Australia.[8] He made an unbeaten 59 in the second innings and was named man of the match.
In 2009, Laxman continues to be in top form. He had scored 76 and 124 in the 2nd Test at Napier in New Zealand. In 2010, in a Test match against South Africa held in Kolkata, he scored 143 in a record stand for the seventh wicket with MS Dhoni. He passed 7000 Test runs during the innings. The test was eventually won by India in the last 10 minutes of the match, which helped India draw the series and remain the world Number 1 team.
Laxman helped India to level the series with Sri Lanka in August 2010 when he hit 103 not out in the run-chase, resulting in a five-wicket win in the Third Test. He was awarded the Man of the Match.[9]
In October, he once again turned around another match that appeared headed for a comfortable Australian victory, in the First Test in Mohali. Laxman was suffering with a back problem and needed Suresh Raina as his runner, and the Indians had collapsed to 124/8 in pursuit of 216. He and paceman Ishant Sharma put on 81 to take the score to 205 before Sharma fell. Last man Pragyan Ojha then managed to survive as the hosts completed a one-wicket win. Laxman ended on 73 not out. He also helped India recover from 15/5 against New Zealand in Ahmedabad in 2010 and the match was drawn. Once again he helped India to a historic win at Durban. India were struggling at 94–5 when he and M.S. Dhoni put on a little partnership. He played intensely with the tail to help India get a lead of 302. He was awarded the Man of the Match for his match-winning 96.
"If you get Dravid, great. If you get Sachin, brilliant. If you get Laxman, it's a miracle." Brett Lee repeats the words of wisdom of his former captain, Steve Waugh 27 Sep 2004.
| Batting[11] | Fielding | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opposition | Matches | Runs | Average | High score | 100s / 50s | Catches | |
| Australia | 25 | 2279 | 55.58 | 281 | 6 / 11 | 30 | |
| Bangladesh | 3 | 117 | 39 | 69* | 0 / 1 | 1 | |
| England | 17 | 766 | 30.64 | 75 | 0 / 6 | 19 | |
| New Zealand | 10 | 818 | 58.42 | 124* | 2 / 6 | 10 | |
| Pakistan | 15 | 775 | 43.05 | 112* | 1 / 6 | 15 | |
| South Africa | 19 | 976 | 37.53 | 143* | 1 / 6 | 18 | |
| Sri Lanka | 13 | 900 | 47.36 | 104 | 2 / 8 | 11 | |
| West Indies | 21 | 1652 | 59.00 | 176* | 4 / 11 | 12 | |
| Zimbabwe | 6 | 280 | 40 | 140 | 1 / 0 | 12 | |
| Overall | 129 | 8563 | 47.30 | 281 | 17 / 55 | 128 | |
| Season | Opponent | Ground | Record[12] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000/01 | Australia | Eden Gardens, Kolkata | 1st Innings: 59 2nd Innings: 281 |
| 2002 | West Indies | Queenspark, Port of Spain | 1st Innings: 69* 2nd Innings: 74 |
| 2008 | Australia | Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi | 1st Innings: 200* 2nd Innings: 59* |
| 2010 | Sri Lanka | P. Saravanamuttu Stadium, Colombo | 1st Innings: 56 2nd Innings: 103* |
| 2010/11 | South African | Kingsmead Cricket Ground, Durban | 1st Innings: 38 2nd Innings: 96 |
| 2011/12 | West Indies | Eden Gardens, Kolkata | 1st Innings: 176* |
| Season | Opponent | Ref |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 | New Zealand | 279 runs at an average of 139.50, 2 catches (three match series) |
| Batting[13] | Fielding | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opposition | Matches | Innings | Runs | Average | High score | 100s / 50s | Catches |
| Australia | 21 | 19 | 739 | 46.18 | 106* | 4 / 2 | |
| Bangladesh | 2 | 2 | 5 | 5.00 | 4 | 0 / 0 | |
| England | 8 | 8 | 143 | 17.87 | 33 | 0 / 0 | |
| Kenya | 3 | 3 | 95 | 31.66 | 79 | 0 / 1 | |
| New Zealand | 10 | 10 | 182 | 18.2 | 60 | 0 / 1 | |
| Pakistan | 10 | 10 | 234 | 23.4 | 107 | 1 / 0 | 15 |
| South Africa | 3 | 3 | 27 | 22 | 9 | 0 / 0 | |
| Sri Lanka | 6 | 6 | 185 | 37.00 | 87* | 0 / 1 | |
| UAE | 1 | 1 | 14 | 14.00 | 14 | 0 / 0 | |
| West Indies | 10 | 10 | 339 | 37.66 | 99 | 0 / 3 | |
| Zimbabwe | 12 | 11 | 375 | 37.5 | 131 | 1 / 2 | |
| Overall | 86 | 83 | 2338 | 30.76 | 131 | 6 / 10 | |
| Date | Opponent | Venue | Record[14] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 28 July 2001 | Sri Lanka | Premadasa Stadium, Colombo | 87* |
| 18 January 2004 | Australia | Brisbane Cricket Ground, Brisbane | 103* |
| 24 January 2004 | Zimbabwe | Adelaide Oval, Adelaide | 131 |
| 24 March 2004 | Pakistan | Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore | 107 |
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