Sourav Ganguly playing his last test almost pulled it off – a hundred on debut and in his final test. All morning he’d played Krejza quite well, stepping out and all. But around the 80 run mark he began to take it easy and slow and in a way that cost him. Dhoni came out after lunch looking to attack but was out soon after his 50 and Krejza went on to have a hat-trick situation with two beautiful deliveries to Zaheer Khan and Amit Mishra.
Watch cricket highlights (including Sachin Tendulkar’s 40th test century) from the 1st day of the Nagpur Test - Australia vs India - the 4th and final test from the 2008 Border-Gavaskar Trophy Series played on November 6, 2008.
The final day was as thrilling as it could ever be. Ricky Ponting declared giving India a victory target of 299 on a crumbling Bangalore wicket. If India got a quick start depending on Sehwag, then it was game on from India. If Australia got Sehwag cheaply, then it was game on from Australia. As it happened, Sehwag got out early and Australia were right on top. Had it been any other Aussie pace attack, they would have won. Had it been any other Indian batting lineup, India would have lost.
Unfortunately for Australia, and fortunately for India, neither was true. The Aussies failed to get 10 wickets. India failed to lose 10 wickets. Two men stood there ground. The only two men who have done so over the last decade. VVS Laxman and Sachin Tendulkar defied a spirited Australian pace attack and Australia’s best spin combination to deny the visitors a victory. Although Tendulkar fell 15 runs short of reaching the world record mark, he would have been pretty satisfied with his effort. VVS on the other hand desperately needed to get amongst the runs, especially after scoring a duck in the first innings.
Ganguly, in his last match at Bangalore, stood firm. His knocks in both the innings have been crucial. He is definitely looking set for a big score in his farewell to international cricket. One wonders, if the last of the 4 matches would have been at the Eden Gardens. The very mention of it being Ganguly’s last match would have ensured capacity crowds for all 5 days, regardless if India win or loose.
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