On this day, in 2001, VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid did something unthinkable, which in a way changed the face of Indian cricket at international level. From being on the brink of losing in another humiliating defeat, VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid’s brilliance with the bat made India bounce back from a losing situation. Batting first, Australia scored 445, in reply India were bowled out for mere 171. After gaining the lead of 274 runs, Australia asked India to follow-on in order to win the Test by an innings but something else was destined to happen. While following-on, India lost their 4 wickets at the score of 88 and another big defeat was on the cards but Laxman and Dravid changed the course with their brilliant batting display. From there on, the duo went on to add 376 runs together with Dravid scoring 180 and then Laxman collected a colossal 281. Interestingly, Both remained unbeaten throughout fourth day’s play. With the help of these knocks, India set the target of 384, which Australia failed to chase as Sourav Ganguly and his men won the Test by 171 runs. This was the only third and last instance of a team winning after being asked to follow-on and all three occasions took place against Australia.
