Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman (Image credit: AFP) India’s victory against Steve Waugh’s Australian team at the Eden Gardens was one of the first steps towards establishing Sourav Ganguly as one of the defining captains in Indian cricket. On the 25th anniversary of Ganguly’s famous win, he spoke about how the Test sparked the much-needed transformation of Indian cricket at the turn of the century.Can you remember how you felt when the last Australian wicket fell?
EXCLUSIVE: Rahul Dravid in the iconic Eden Gardens win against Australia in 2001
It was a wild test match. You cannot verbalize these emotions. It was incredible. To win this test when we were away against the best team of that generation was unbelievable. You start a streak with the goal of winning it. But the way things played out at the Eden Gardens made us believe that we could win the series in Chennai in the next Test. I still believe more than winning this test, winning the series was more important for Indian cricket. This Australian team beat every team in their home. This win at Eden Gardens was bigger because we could have won the series in Chennai. In those days, you were judged only by how well you played in Test cricket.You took over as captain at a difficult time when scandals hit Indian cricket. Then your team lost in Mumbai. How much did winning Eden change things for you?By the time the Australian series happened, we had overcome those issues. A few months before that, we had already played the final of the Champions Trophy in Nairobi. The negative issues were forgotten there. That win obviously changed the mood and mindset in the dressing room. It gave me more confidence as a captain. It made us feel like we could beat anyone.There has been a lot of talk about how you kept Steve Waugh waiting for the…It just happened. I’ve been looking for my jacket to wear to shuffling. But then you could see he was upset. Then it became a tactic to distract the Australians and keep them irritated in the field.What was the discussion in the dressing room when you were forced to continue? You have accepted a large submission challenge Laxman Plumbing on No. 3 before Rahul Dravid…There was really nothing to talk about. Sending VVS to #3 didn’t seem like much of a challenge at the time. He batted beautifully. So we went with the flow. It was all about batting in one session. Every dough started. But what VSS and Dravid did was exceptional.The statement came almost at the end of the first session of the fifth day. When did you start planning to win?We knew that things move very quickly on the last day of a Test match in India. We thought that if we could make it to the last day of the test, anything could happen. Even when we went out on the field, we weren’t thinking about winning the Test. It was all about keeping trying, and things kept happening.It is said that your captaincy paved the way for India’s fearless cricket. How many calls have you taken were out of desperation rather than tactics? And did the series make you believe that this is your team now?I never thought about managing a team or owning a team. We were a fantastic cricket team who kept trying. I just said we should play to win. Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman and I batted in the middle order, which is one of the best any team can hope for. Anil Kumble missed the series but he was a top class spinner.Yes, after that win, it helped create a strong foundation for the team for years to come. Virender Sehwag came in and Harbhajan Singh became a big bowler. Zaheer Khan grew as a pacer. Yuvraj Singh and Mohammed Kaif made their mark in the one-day team. This victory set the stage for historic victories like Leeds, Adelaide and Multan.After this series, we thought about winning abroad. The best thing about that team was that different individuals were there on different occasions. At that time every team attacked in bowling. International cricket has been tough around the world. It’s not like several teams have become now. Each team was particularly strong in their own backyard.People talked about how this win changed the way India played. Before that, however, there was a quiet transformation. Like I said, we were a fantastic cricket team. We became great friends especially with John Wright, who was the first foreign coach in India. We could have stayed longer with a great group of players. We believed we could do bigger things in international cricket.Indian Test cricket has started looking shaky even in home conditions today. Do you think a Test series win now like it did in 2001 can have a similar impact on Indian cricket?Of course! A great series of Tests can influence a lot of people. I understand that T20 cricket has become massive and rightfully so. Back-to-back victories in the T20 World Cup must be an inspiration. But even a hard-fought Test series victory has a different maximum. But for that India need to start playing on good pitches in India. The talent in India is huge. The team had been doing well in England recently and felt so good. I am confident that Test cricket will continue to thrive in India.
