Earlier this year, India marked 25 years since the 2001 Test series against Australia, a contest remembered as much for its cricket as for the mood around the game at the time.
Indian cricket was coming out of a bruising period. The match-fixing scandal of 2000 had damaged public trust. Many supporters were unsure what to believe and whom to trust. In that setting, the arrival of Steve Waugh’s Australian side in early 2001 made the challenge even harder.
Australia were the strongest Test team of that period. They came to India on a 15-Test winning streak and were chasing what Waugh called the Final Frontier. India had not been an easy place for Australian teams for decades, but this squad had the pace, spin, batting depth and confidence to test that record.
Australia started with complete control
The first Test at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium lasted only three days. Australia won by ten wickets and stretched their winning run to 16 Tests, equalling their own record. Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne, Matthew Hayden and Adam Gilchrist were among the leading figures in that performance.
For India, led by Sourav Ganguly, the defeat felt heavy. The home side had been outplayed clearly, and the anxiety around the team only deepened. Supporters who were already disillusioned feared a one-sided series.
Those fears grew at Eden Gardens in Kolkata. Australia made 445 in their first innings. India replied with only 171. The team’s batting returns in the series until then were 176, 219 and 171. Even Harbhajan Singh becoming the first Indian to take a Test hat-trick did not fully change the feeling around the match. India were 274 runs behind and facing another defeat.
The change that opened the door
India’s second innings began with the follow-on enforced. At that point, the situation looked nearly impossible. The decision to move V.V.S. Laxman to No. 3, with Rahul Dravid going down to No. 6, became the turning point of the match.
Laxman and Dravid then produced one of India’s most memorable Test partnerships. Laxman made 281 and Dravid scored 180. Together, they added 376 runs. They batted through the fourth day and changed the direction of the match with patience, skill and refusal to give Australia an opening.
By the final morning, India were no longer trying only to save the Test. Ganguly declared with Australia under pressure. The same match that had seemed beyond reach was now there to be won.
Harbhajan and Tendulkar finish the job
Harbhajan, who had already made history with his hat-trick, continued to trouble Australia. He took six for 73 in the second innings. Sachin Tendulkar, after scoring 10 in each innings, contributed with the ball by taking the wickets of Hayden, Gilchrist and Warne. One of those wickets came through a sharply turning googly.
India won by 171 runs. The margin itself was striking because of where the match had stood only three days earlier. Australia had enforced the follow-on with a large first-innings lead. India had looked beaten. Yet by the end, the result had levelled the series and stopped Australia’s long winning run.
The Eden Gardens Test did more than produce a famous scorecard. It gave Indian supporters something solid to hold on to at a difficult time for the sport. After the fixing scandal had shaken faith in cricket, this performance showed a team fighting openly and fully in front of its fans.
Laxman’s 281, Dravid’s 180, the 376-run stand, Harbhajan’s wickets and Tendulkar’s unexpected bowling contribution remain the central details of that match. Together, they explain why the 2001 Kolkata Test is still remembered with such force by Indian cricket followers.
Source: The Hindu Cricket.