Whenever we talk about the Indo-Australian Test rivalry, no Indian fan would forget that iconic Test in Eden Gardens in 2000, when India turned the tide like a bolt from the blue and the Australians were crumbling and crawling after an emphatic first innings display that saw India following on despite a fiery start from Harbhajan Singh who already registered the maiden hat-trick in the history of Indian Test cricket.
Australia’s rampant winning streak added another glorious chapter to the trail of domination beating India handsomely at Mumbai in the curtain-raiser of the series. Things changed however, in the second fixture when Harbhajan Singh stunned the entire Australian batting unit, leaving them hamstrung for a modest number on the cards.
Despite able to get the choke locked in, India couldn’t squeeze their way through as Steve Waugh’s resilient display laced with some dogged persistence from Jason Gillespie allowed Australia to break free from the clutches and leave India reeling at ground zero, contorting in unbearable pain.
The Indian batters could do very little in the first innings to dissuade the Australians of their notion of invulnerability. After being asked to follow on, India had some serious heat on their tail until Sourav Ganguly walked to the middle to dispel the ghosts of another collapse followed by one of the most humdinger partnerships in the antiquity of Indian cricket as Rahul Dravid and Laxman continued the charge.
From hereon, the Australians simply stood as mere onlookers to some historic carnage that was being inflicted upon them and the visitors’ imperious domination had already come to a screeching halt by then. Not only did India saved the blushes of mortification but they went onto post a staggering target on the board that made the Aussies shiver for a while.
Much to the surprise of the visitors, despite a blinder of a start, they were soon brought to their knees as India penned history and made the world stand up and take notice when a bunch of rag-tag rebels chose to offend the cricketing authority of Australia.
Talking to Sangabad Pratidin, a Bengali publication, former Indian captain, Sourav Ganguly spoke at length about what exactly unfurled at the Eden Gardens in those historic five days. Talking on the partnership between Dravid and Laxman, he said, “The greatest partnership in cricket’s history… On the fourth day, we lost no wickets and scored 335 runs. Rahul and VVS took drips after returning to the dressing room at the end of the day’s play. They lost a lot of fluids after batting through the entire day. But tiredness didn’t stop Rahul and VVS. They kept on fighting.” He concluded by saying, “And Australia? They couldn’t believe what India were doing to them. When Harbhajan trapped Glenn McGrath LBW, the Eden Gardens exploded. That expression of emotions was infectious. It gave a new lease of life to Indian cricket. Our team had achieved something rare, which hasn’t been replicated yet. We proved that Australia can be beaten.”
