Elderly intervention to avert crisis

Smiles return as old hand VVS Laxman joins the low-on-morale men with blues

The first shot he played was a tentative jab that had Harbhajan Singh smiling. The next ball from Dinesh Mongia was patted back confidently and Anil Kumble, too, got some respect. But then, Zaheer Khan charged in and out came that flick off the hips that even Sachin Tendulkar wants to giftwrap and take home.

VVS Laxman is here, tired after the long haul across, eager to get back to the hotel room and hit the bed soon. But not before some indoor net practice at the Wanderers this evening. Feeling quite comfortable after breezing through the entire Indian attack, he switched to the bowling machine, then had coach Greg Chappell8217;s assistant Ian Frazer pitch some from up close.

India8217;s new Test vice-captain 8212; captain in the first Test if Rahul Dravid doesn8217;t recover from his finger injury in time 8212; Laxman is yet to sit down with the team management and work out his role. But the initial word he has got is he would continue to bat at No 3 in Tests, and even maybe in last one-dayer on Sunday.

The team management might have had doubts about his fitness, his knees that have given away before, even his fielding. And if one national selector is to be believed, his fitness was never seriously discussed during the Mohali meeting of October that decided this one-day squad8212;he just did not figure in the greater gameplan.

But after India8217;s sinking, one could sense that the huge sigh of relief at the sight of Laxman, in tracksuit, padded up, knocking back one ball after another.

So what will be bring with him for the final one-dayer? Hopefully, some Test-quality staying power to start with 8212; at least for Sunday. This star-studded Indian line-up lasted 29.1 overs at Durban, 41.3 at Cape Town and just 38.1 at Port Elizabeth8212;108.5 overs in three matches.

Forget a century, there have been just two inspired knocks by Rahul Dravid 63 and MS Dhoni 55 in Cape Town, and a quick 35 from Sachin Tendulkar at Durban earlier. And believe it or not, Irfan Pathan is the only other player to have crossed the 20-mark.

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Here8217;s where Laxman8217;s experience is expected to count. He last played a one-dayer 15 months ago, has played just two games against South Africa, but has ten 50s and six hundreds in 82 games. He also wants to play the World Cup8212;his lifetime dream, he says. He was denied in 2003; hopefully, he will take the next step on Sunday.