🇮🇳 #VVSLaxman sublime 6️⃣4️⃣ 🏏vs New Zealand at Ahmedabad, 2003 #SixesOutofStadium #TestBatting
Channel: Cricket Records Hindi
Date: 26/07/2021

1st Test, Ahmedabad, Oct 8 - 12 2003, New Zealand tour of India
RESULT - Match Drawn
Player of the Match - Rahul Dravid

#VVSLaxmanTestBatting

INDIA 500/5 (159 overs) 1ST INNINGS

Rahul Dravid 222 (387), Sourav Ganguly* 100 (211)
Daniel Vettori 2/128 (44), Jacob Oram 1/95 (33)

#VVSLaxmanvsNewZealand

NEW ZEALAND 340/10 (131.1 overs) 1ST INNINGS

Nathan Astle 103 (207), Daniel Vettori 60 (129)
Zaheer Khan 4/68 (23), Anil Kumble 2/58 (35.1)

#VVSLaxmanTopShots

INDIA 209/6 (44.5 overs) 2ND INNINGS

Rahul Dravid 73 (86), VVS Laxman 44 (35)
Paul Wiseman 4/64 (11.5), Jacob Oram 1/39 (8)

NEW ZEALAND 272/6 (107 overs) 2ND INNINGS

Craig McMillan* 83 (190), Lou Vincent 67 (186)
Anil Kumble 4/95 (39), Harbhajan Singh 2/65 (38)

A splendid hundred from Rahul Dravid, now at the very height of his powers as a Test match batsman, was the fulcrum of the innings as India reached 249 for 3 at the end of the first day's play at the Sardar Patel Stadium at Ahmedabad, a position which they will look to covert into an unassailable first-innings score on the morrow. Dravid was ably supported by VVS Laxman, who came to the crease with India in a spot of bother at 134 for 3. The two put on 115 for the fourth wicket, of which Laxman's share was 56.
Dravid came to the crease in the eleventh over of the innings, after Virender Sehwag had fallen for 29. Dravid caught up quickly with Akash Chopra, with whom he put on 72 for the second wicket, then saw Sachin Tendulkar come and go, and prospered in the company of Laxman, with whom he shared one of Test cricket's most memorable batting partnerships in that Test match against Australia at Kolkata two seasons ago.

The New Zealand attack was fairly disciplined, but so was Dravid. He made most of his runs in the area between point and cover; in fact, all but three of his thirteen boundaries came in this region. A number of these were drives off the seam bowlers, his front foot out right to the pitch of the ball and his head low as he leant on the ball and caressed it through the covers in copybook fashion. To the spinners, on a slowish pitch, his preferred shot was the drive off the back foot, going right back against his stumps and hitting down on the ball right at the top of its bounce. He hit several such shots off Daniel Vettori over the course of the day, and it was the reason Vettori was unable to get on top of him as he could with the other Indian batsmen.

Dravid and Laxman reclaimed the advantage for India in the last session after New Zealand had worked their way back into the game with two hours of disciplined and persistent cricket after lunch, conceding just 73 runs for the wickets of Chopra and Tendulkar. The architect of New Zealand's revival was Vettori, who bowled unchanged for the entire session, troubled both Chopra and Tendulkar - though not the redoubtable Dravid - and showed why he is considered the best left-arm spinner on the scene today.