A hundred worth their weight in Gold

(Story has been taken till his 101 runs)

Tremendous Century by VVS Laxman under pressure!

First, there was a breathtaking assault for his first fifty runs, which came off just 43 balls at a strike-rate of 116. They ensured that Ricky Ponting, on offence throughout the early part of his partnership with Dravid, withdrew a little into his shell.

And the next 50, against a relatively more conservative field placement, were compiled little cautiously, coming off 84 balls at a strike-rate of 61.

Laxman’s ability to find boundaries at will as he made another of his century in crisis, was evident in the fact that he got as many as 17 boundries in reaching the landmark. So one boundary for each of his six runs, which was exceptional by any standards!

There were some authentic strokes, evident in as many as six boundaries coming from the cover region.

Meanwhile, the Australian attack, facing unexpected resistance, also started bowling loose on the onside, giving him seven boundaries between the midwicket and the fine-leg regions.

Laxman treated each Australian bowler on merit, taking at least six runs out of the every ten balls bowled by them. However, he was particularly severe on Johnson, milking him at run-a-ball.

Whatever happens from now on, Laxman’s innings and another great partnership with Rahul Dravid should help India believe that they can take on this Australian attack really well. Even as they needed some dose of luck to achieve that.