One of the most skillful batters to play for India, VVS Laxman epitomised sheer grit and composure. The former Indian batter rescued his team from a perilous situation on several occasions in his heyday. One of his best performances came in an away Test against Sri Lanka in August 2010. Laxman played a terrific innings in the second innings as India chased down a 257-run target in Colombo on this day.
At that point in time, it was the highest-run chase for India in the longest format of the game. Besides Laxman, Sachin Tendulkar also made a crucial contribution. Tendulkar added 54 runs to the scoresheet.
It was the last Test of the three-match series and India were trailing 1-0 after losing the first game by ten wickets. The then-Sri Lankan captain Kumar Sangakkara won the toss in the third Test and chose to bat first. The hosts posted 453 runs in the first innings.
Thilan Samaraweera was the top scorer with 137 runs while Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene registered half-centuries. For India, Pragyan Ojha fetched a four-wicket haul and Ishant Sharma earned three dismissals.
Virender Sehwag excelled with the bat in India’s first innings. The opening batter scored 109 runs off 105 balls and his knock comprised 19 boundaries. Among the other Indian batters, VVS Laxman and Suresh Raina breached the 50-run mark while Abhimanyu Mithun and Pragyan Ojha made some valuable contributions.
India finished their innings with 436 runs on Day 3. Sri Lanka faced a batting collapse in the second innings and were seven-wicket down having scored 87. The only standout batter was Thilan Samaraweera, who produced a gritty knock of 83. With Virender Sehwag, Amit Mishra and Pragyan Ojha each taking three wickets, Sri Lanka were bowled out for 267.
India failed to make a positive start to the chase and lost the crucial wickets of Virender Sehwag and Rahul Dravid in the first ten overs. Murali Vijay, who opened the innings with Sehwag, also returned to the dressing room early.
VVS Laxman walked out to bat and joined hands with Sachin Tendulkar. They racked up a 109-run partnership before Suraj Randiv picked up the wicket of Tendulkar. Suresh Raina then joined Laxman and the duo got the remaining job done. Raina stayed not out at 41 while Laxman was named the Player of the Match for his match-winning century.
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