With the lockdown in its full bloom and with all sporting activities coming to an indefinite halt, in order to keep the fans engaged and entertained, cricketers have decided to take to their social media handles and either share unprecedented secrets or probably have taken walks down the memory lanes. In one such Instagram live session hosted by Shanivi Sadana for Sportskeeda, Pragyan Ojha came unfurled about an innings where the coolest batsman in the ranks of India came out lashing at him. He was talking about V.V.S Laxman.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BoidmTYhxSF/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
India was chasing 216 against a mighty Australia at Mohali in 2010 and was very narrowly clinging on to the match, courtesy of a very brazen showdown from India’s most special test batsman, Laxman. Known for his ability to bat with the tail-enders, Laxman very calmly was ushering India to a victory. However, situations were beyond control and India was almost on the brink of collapse as they lost their eighth wicket at 124 runs.
With 92 runs still to win and with Ishant Sharma at the crease, victory was beyond the wildest imaginations of even the most ardent firebrands of India. However, the lanky pacer started hanging in, enduring everything that was hurled at him. Laxman started rebuilding the innings slowly and steadily. The stand of 81 runs finally came to an end after Ben Hilfenhaus caught Ishant stranded in front of the stumps.
India still needed 11 runs to win and their last resort was Pragyan Ojha. Laxman was unable to run anymore and brought in Suresh Raina as his runner. After clawing left and right, India was 6 runs away from victory and then the unthinkable happened. A misunderstanding between Raina and Ojha almost cost India the match. However, fortunately, a fumble in the field spared Ojha his wicket.
This is when Laxman walked up to Ojha and gave him a stringent talking-to, cautioning him about averting any of such silly errors.
Ojha stated, “Anybody who would’ve been in my shoes would’ve thought that such disagreements are part of the game. It wasn’t about an individual, it was about the team and about the country. In that situation, a small mistake could also have cost us the game. That was the reason he lost his cool. Probably, because he knows me from childhood, he took that liberty. But, I didn’t really mind that bit as long as my team was winning.”
After this callous mistake, India managed to learn from it and they did cross the line with one wicket to spare. After this thrilling victory, the supporters heaped praises on VVS and Zaheer who steered the impossible in India’s favour. However, Ishant got a very special mention for his remarkable resilience.
Ojha also added to his aforementioned statement, “He used to get important runs for his country and his state. He played in a very crucial position as he used to mostly play with tailenders. Though he had the security of MSD later, he still made the tailenders understand the situation and also took them along with him. That is very difficult to do and he always made it seem easy.”
