Nagpur: Stylish Indian middle order batsman VVS Laxman on Thursday joined the exclusive club of cricketers who have played in 100 or more Tests during the fourth and final Test against Australia at the newly built Vidarbha Cricket Association stadium at Jamtha.Laxman, whose batting resembles that of fellow-Hyderabadi and former India skipper Mohammed Azharuddin for the use of wrists, moved into the elite club which had only seven Indian cricketers before him.
Azharuddin had missed out on the distinction as his career ended with 99 Tests following his alleged role in the match-fixing scandal that rocked world cricket eight years ago.
The other Indians who are in the exclusive 100-Test club are Sachin Tendulkar (154), Anil Kumble, who recently retired after playing 132 Tests, Kapil Dev (131), Rahul Dravid (129), Sunil Gavaskar (125), Dilip Vengsarkar (116) and Sourav Ganguly, who is calling it a day after playing his 113th Test here.
Since making his debut under Azharuddin against South Africa in 1996 at Ahmedabad, Laxman had amassed 6,313 runs with 13 centuries to his credit at an average of 45.41.
With 21 wickets in his first 12 matches at an economy rate of well under six, Sunil Narine has been Kolkata's main-man with the ball.
