Laxman vs Anderson: Spicy starter before main course

After a match-winning fiver in the second innings at Lord's and a wicket off the first ball of the first innings at Trent Bridge.

After a match-winning fiver in the second innings at Lord8217;s and a wicket off the first ball of the first innings at Trent Bridge,it seemed James Anderson could do no wrong. But just one session against VVS Laxman changed it all. The man who had swaggered and smiled for the past one week was kicking the turf in disgust as the teams left the field for lunch on Day Two. After conceding 36 from nine wicketless overs,Anderson did improve later in the day but his spell was broken and unlike at Lord8217;s he didn8217;t have a halo around his head.

The England pace spearhead bowled 54 balls in the first session,and 48 of them were to Laxman. To say it was a no-contest wouldn8217;t be an exaggeration. Except for one ball that went very close to the bat,Hot Spot saying no edge,the remaining 47 were either left alone or timed from the middle of the bat. The Laxman-Anderson contest saw 40 dot balls and one double. But it was the seven hits to the fence that saw a bowler in prime form slipping,losing control of line,length and even his temper. Anderson was animated when the fielder on drinks duty didn8217;t acknowledge his wild waves to the dressing room and later ran in with the wrong consignment. He had a few exchanges with Laxman too. Anderson didn8217;t seem happy with the world as he found fault with his run up and the roughs that deepened on the bowling crease.

But from the stands,it seemed that his biggest problem was Laxman. When a batsman sends the ball to the fence regardless of where the bowler pitches it,bowlers do get agitated. There were at least three balls that were perfectly pitched on a good length the kind of fatalistic deliveries that batsmen go searching for but Laxman saw through the old trick.

He waited for the ball on the backfoot and allowed it to move so that he could guide it around square for four. These three balls on any other day had a high chance of getting wickets,but on Saturday they cost 12 runs,leading to heartbreak and loads of self-doubt. The occasional front foot drive,two of which went blazing past cover,showed that Anderson8217;s Plan B too wasn8217;t working.

In times like these,bowlers see a flashback and recall the batsman8217;s last dismissal. At Lord8217;s Laxman was caught while pulling,at backward square leg in the first innings and at midwicket in the second. So Anderson tried bowling short. After three boundaries,Anderson was clueless and England in disarray. The short-leg had long been discarded,and the slip cordon was depleting. With Laxman around,things can change.

Second to none

Among the several less publicised but preciously important statistics concerning Laxman,one happens to illustrate his showing in the second Tests of series. The last time India were down 0-1 after the first Test of a series was during the 2010-11 series in South Africa. And it was the man with supple wrists and stout heart who stroked a match-winning 96 to level the series.

There are two undeniable characteristics that this Indian team possess. They are slow starters and they have bouncebackability. Laxman8217;s average of 53.62 in second Tests is a reflection of how often he has given India a surge after their usual bad start. Just before lunch,Laxman fell to a sharp rising ball from Tim Bresnan for 54 but he had done the damage.