India Australia test matches have always been entertaining and highly competitive. The 2001 test series was the most iconic series as India toppled the mighty Australian team beating them 2-1. Former Indian captain Saurav Ganguly revisits the memorable series.
Australia thrashed India by 10 wickets in the first test match in Mumbai. In the second test at Eden Gardens, Australia made 445 in the first innings. India were bowled out for 171 in the first innings and Australia enforced a follow-on.
India’s iconic duo VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid stitched on a partnership and batted out the whole fourth day without losing a single wicket and scoring 335 runs.
Ganguly talks about the greatest partnership in Cricket’s history
“The greatest partnership in cricket’s history… On the fourth day, we lost no wickets and scored 335 runs. Rahul and VVS took drips after returning to the dressing room at the end of the day’s play. They lost a lot of fluids after batting through the entire day. But tiredness didn’t stop Rahul and VVS. They kept on fighting,” Ganguly wrote for Bengali daily Sangbad Pratidin.
“We went to Chennai to play the last Test with a lot of confidence. But we knew Australia would be at its fearsome best there. I told the team to play their best cricket because the world has seen what happens when we play at our best.
Dada talks about Mathew Hayden
Matthew Hayden was playing the best cricket of his life. It was important to get him out early. But the main thing was to bat well and put them under pressure. We did that and won the series 2-“That 2001 series undoubtedly was the best of my life. That victory matured me as a leader. The team believed that they could win in any situation anywhere in the world,” Ganguly concluded.
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