When we take a look at the golden era of Indian batting in Tests, one of the names that comes to mind is VVS Laxman. His contribution to the Indian team’s success in Test matches during the 2000s is invaluable and cannot be overlooked.
The batter is one of the pioneers when it comes to batting with the lower order and has won India several games in tough situations, apart from saving quite a lot of them.
Laxman remained an integral part of India’s Test team in that decade, playing some of the most memorable knocks, but had a stop-start career when it came to ODI cricket.
But here in this article, we will celebrate the career of VVS Laxman, which saw him represent India at the highest level from 1996 to 2012.
VVS Laxman’s Record in International Cricket
| Format | Matches | Runs | Average | 50s/100s | Best score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Test | 134 | 8781 | 45.97 | 56/17 | 281 |
| ODI | 86 | 2338 | 30.76 | 10/6 | 131 |
| Combined | 220 | 11119 | 41.64 | 66/23 | 281 |
Great Achievements of VVS Laxman in International Cricket Career
Test
- With 8781 runs in Tests, VVS Laxman has the 23rd-highest tally in the history of the longest format. He stands 5th in the list of all-time run scorers for India in Tests.
- He has amassed 17 tons during the course of his storied Test career and ranks in joint 8th place with Dilip Vengsarkar.
- His 134-match Test career is the 15th most appearances in the longest format and is only bested by the duo of Sachin Tendulkar (200) and Rahul Dravid (164) amongst Indians.
- In his 134 Test match career, VVS Laxman crossed the 50-run mark in an innings 73 times, making him the joint 14th most tally along with Australia’s Steve Smith.
- VVS Laxman made his career-best Test score of 281 against Australia at Eden Gardens back in 2001. This is the 5th highest score made in the 3rd innings of a Test match and the highest by an Indian.
- That still remains the 5th best individual score by an Indian batter in a Test and the 42nd-highest overall.
- In that match, he aggregated 340 runs, which is the 2nd highest aggregate by an Indian batter after Gavaskar’s 344. And it is the 2nd most number of runs in a Test match by any batter.
- He hammered 44 fours during the epic knock of 281. This is the 5th most boundary fours struck by a batter in a single Test innings.
- He shared a 376-run partnership with Dravid for the fifth wicket in the famous Kolkata Test, and it is the 3rd highest stand in terms of runs for the said wicket.
- Speaking of partnerships, Laxman once forged a dominant 259-run stand with MS Dhoni for the 7th wicket. This is the 6th largest partnership in Tests for the 7th wicket.
- Laxman averages a stunning 48.88 when it comes to the 3rd and 4th innings of a Test match. This is the 8th best for a batter with a minimum of 3000 runs when batting in the 3rd and 4th innings of a Test match.
- He has held 135 catches as a fielder (non-wicketkeeper), making him the 16th most prolific catcher in Tests.
- Laxman once scored a half-century in each of his 8 Tests between 2009 and 2010.
ODI
- Though he has just 6 ODI centuries to his name, 3 of them came in the VB series 2003/04, involving Australia and Zimbabwe. This is just one of 28 occasions where a batter has struck 3 or more centuries in a single tourney (both bilateral and multi-national tournaments included).
- He took 12 catches as a fielder in the same tournament, and 4 of those came in a single match against Zimbabwe.
Test and ODI combined
- VVS Laxman’s favourite opponent is Australia, and he has smashed 10 of the 23 international centuries against them. This places him among the 36 batters who have scored 10 or more centuries against a single opponent. Sachin leads the pack with 20 tons against Australia.
- He has held 174 catches across the format, making it the 44th most catches by a fielder.
- His run tally of 11119 for India is the 11th highest for the country in all the formats combined.
- With 23 tons, he remains India’s 10th-most century-maker in international cricket and has 66 other fifty-plus scores in 308 innings.
