India vs. Australia – 2001 Kolkata – One of the Greatest Test Matches of All Time

11th March, 9:30 AM IST – India went into the Kolkata Test trailing 1-0 in a 3-match Test series. It wasn’t new, as I had just witnessed South Africa beating India a year back in a 2-match Test series 2-0. It was something I had never seen since I started watching cricket and following the Indian team in home conditions.

Between 1993 and 2000, against England, Zimbabwe, West Indies, New Zealand, South Africa, Sri Lanka, and Australia, I never saw India lose any Test series; of course, except the Asian Test Championship match against Pakistan at Kolkata in 1999.

That series between India and South Africa played in India was a very closely fought 2-match series. The result in Mumbai could have gone either way in the last innings where Boucher resorted to the policy of “sweep everything to win.”

Fast forward to 2001 – India was looking meek going into the Kolkata Test. I suspected India might finally have to surrender to the mighty Australians, who were running high on 16 back-to-back Test victories. Sixteen consecutive Test victories, something you don’t see or witness, at least in this modern era. It was hard to believe none of those 16 Test victories had a result affected by rain or any other natural cause. Of course, luck favors the brave, and I must admit that the Australian team had the best lot of cricketers a team could ever have. Maybe more potent than the West Indies of the late '70s and '80s. Australia had Warne, McGrath, and Gillespie to accompany Ponting, the Waugh brothers, a rejuvenated Hayden, and finally the most destructive keeper ever in Gilchrist.

Moving back to March 11th – Tea – Australia was just 1 down for a score of about 200. I always sensed that something could happen that could turn the tide for India. It was either now or never, and then the unimaginable happened. With the ball starting to turn, Harbhajan was at his lethal best. Taking a hat trick by no means was on anyone’s mind, but once Ramesh took Shane Warne’s catch, history was made. I saw for the first time an Indian player taking a hat trick in Test matches. The whole of India was rejoicing as if it was Diwali. The Bengalis at Eden Garden went berserk, and the atmosphere was just electric. However, Australia was never bogged down by that feat and still managed to score around 450 on the back of Steve Waugh’s brilliant 100. India’s first innings reply was meek, with the only shining light being VVS promoted up the batting order to give a struggling Dravid a breather.

 

Sourav, according to me, was the finest captain India had in the last few years. Of course, Dhoni fans might argue this, but Ganguly laid the foundation on which Dhoni carried forward. You can’t give credit to Ponting unless he was handed a brilliant team by Waugh, and before that, Taylor and Border. Great Australian teams over the years have built a strong leadership structure, and that is the reason most of their teams are always on top. The same can’t be said for India until Ganguly was handed the reins.

 

A deficit of 270-odd at the end of the first innings, with a rampaging bowling attack; any captain in the world would have asked the opposition to follow on. This was a unanimous decision; I don’t think anyone doubted it at the end of lunch around Day 3.

 

March 14th, 2001 – the greatest day of cricket in Test match history. On the morning of this day, remember India was still trailing behind Australia with only 6 wickets remaining. God had made plans; He had already written the script we mortals could have never imagined. The class of the batting that day was out of this world. I had never seen such a batting performance in my career. Of course, I didn’t have the privilege of witnessing any Test matches in the pre-Sachin Tendulkar era. However, that was one of the finest displays of batsmanship ever shown by two resilient characters who refused to bow down to the mighty Australians. The flicks and the drives from VVS Laxman were exquisite against the bowling of Shane Warne. Counterattacking McGrath and Gillespie’s reverse swing was a delight to see. Australia threw everything at both players but got nothing in return. According to me, the only trick that Waugh missed that day was to go slightly defensive when both of them were in charge. He kept on attacking in pursuit of getting them out. However, both Laxman and Dravid outwitted him with their batting mastery.

 

March 15th, 2001 – a Test match needed to be won to square the series and prove to the world that India was no fluke at home. They were lions in their backyard and not mere cats. Once again, Harbhajan along with Sachin’s off and leg breaks broke the back of Australians and won it for India. It was one of the finest Test matches ever played in the 110-odd years of Test cricket. It was my privilege to have witnessed such a Test match. As deserved, the series became one of the cult classics of all time in the history of Test cricket.

 

Australia lost their winning streak, and India earned their well-deserved respect. The world watched with wide eyes. That was the start of Indian cricket becoming the powerhouse in world cricket. One Test match dared to turn Indian cricket's fortunes. There have been a few heartbreaks, of course, in the new millennium when India lost to Australia in 2004 and England in 2012, but apart from those, no team has come close since that match to competing with India in India.

 

- Madhur Kapoor (Cricket Enthusiast)