Laxman indulges after receiving Sachin-like reception

Published>Mon, Nov 15 10 06:39 AM

Everything seemed to have fallen perfectly in place for Hyderabad. Local boy Gagan Narang had shot down a silver medal at Guangzhou on Saturday and the special sporting weekend now awaited a perfect climax.

All over the world when Sachin Tendulkar is the unbeaten overnight batsmen, foot falls at stadium increase. But that wasn't the only reason why 30,000 turned up for the third day's play. With Test cricket returning to the city after 22 years, VVS Laxman was playing his first game at home in India whites. Hyderabad thought this Sunday outing could never go wrong.

If not Tendulkar, Laxman would certainly make their day.

Telugu superstar Venkatesh with hanger-ons, local bureaucrats with excited children, influential politicians with lackeys, students with tri colours and girls with painted faces occupied the corporate boxes,

CM enclosure, pavilion seats and janta stands. Test cricket's newest venue ? Rajiv Gandhi international stadium ? was a buzz and no one was complaining about the long queues, frisking or the security forced cellphone-less existence.

Much before lunch, the biryani stand echoed the sound of a long metal spoon scraping the base of a giant tin degchi. And the young man at the pizza stall said that the garlic bread was selling with hot cakes. "Roughly 2,000 pizza base are over," answers a busy voice after sale queries.

Hyderabad got the first shock when Tendulkar fell too early. And once again the fans had a unique way of explaining his innings of 13. "Just 87 short of his 50th hundred," they said. All was not lost as Laxman walked in to an ovation that he would have never seen or heard anywhere.

In other words, he got a Tendulkar-like cheer.

While anticipating a Tendulkar or Laxman hundred, the locals had discounted the Kiwis. The packed stands inspired them to bowl and field out of their skins. Laxman was middling the ball just from start

but the tight bowling meant boundaries were few. The crowd was getting restless as they started applauding even his singles. Not for long can Laxman's wrists be shackled. Finally, those in the roofless stands braving harsh sun and rains later were not regretting their long trip to the city's outskirts.

Since Laxman had got out early in the two ODIs they had played here, Hyderabad for the first time were getting a ring-side view of those wristy strokes that they had so often seen on television. Tight off-side fields were made redundant as balls from across the stumps were dispatched to the leg-side fence. Balls from middle stumps got magically turned to the fine leg.

Just as the crowd warming up, a Chris Martin ball hit Laxman's pads and the umpire raised his finger. "It was going over the stumps," was the consensus.

Harbhajan Singh, though, ensured that the fans went home without much regret. They went hoarse for every hoick, slog and swat that Harbhajan connected. Hyderabad came to see a classic double bill but they got an action-packed thriller.

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