On this day in 2012: Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman’s last day in international cricket
On January 28, 2012, India’s legendary cricketers Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman stepped out on the cricket field for one final time during the fourth Test of India’s tour of Australia at the Adelaide Oval as the pair bid adieu to international cricket with 35,183 runs between them for India across formats.
With India already 3-0 down in the Test series, the fourth and the final Test of India’s tour of Australia at Adelaide was a nightmare for Indian fans as their team lost the match and it happened to be the last international match for two of the stalwarts in Indian cricket history. The duo scored just 79 runs in between them across two innings of the match.
Dravid scored 1 and 25 while Laxman mustered 18 and 35 runs in their last game against Australia as the former announced his retirement in March 2012, while Laxman declared his decision just before the start of the New Zealand series at home in August 2012. Interestingly, the first Test of the series against NZ was due to be played at Laxman’s home ground Hyderabad but India’s middle-order rock decided to not take part in the series by confirming his retirement
Part of India’s Fab four from the past along with Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly, Dravid popularly known as ‘The Wall’ and Laxman as ‘Very Very Special’ made their Test debuts in the same year in 1996. Fittingly the southern gentlemen brought down the curtains in the very same match against the Aussies down under.
Historic partnership
Fans around the world just can’t forget the epic partnership which both the legends shared against Australia at Kolkata in 2001. Already 1-0 behind in the series, and following on in the second innings of the second Test, the pair joined hands and shared a mammoth 376 runs partnership for the fifth wicket to set Australia a target of 383 runs. Laxman registered his highest Test score of 281 as Dravid smashed 180 runs subsequently winning the Test and levelling the series 1-1 for India.
If Kolkata’s heroic efforts weren’t enough, the pair again tormented the same team as the duo stitched together another humongous partnership of 303 runs for the fifth wicket in the second Test of India’s tour of Australia in 2003/04 in Adelaide. The hosts scored 556 runs in the first innings as India was reduced to 85/4 in their reply. The reliable pair helped the visitors in scoring 523 runs as Dravid scored 233 and Laxman 148 with India going on to win the Test at the end.
Dravid ended his Test career with 13265 runs in record 163 matches with an average of 52.63 and a staggering 36 centuries. Laxman amassed 8781 in 134 matches with an average of 45.97 and 17 tons to his name. The Wall and the Very Very Special are still the second and fourth highest run-scorers for India in Test history as the pair is dearly missed by the cricket fans for their contribution to Indian cricket over the years.
