Laxman - The reigning monarch of the domestic circuit

He might have just about proved his international credentials with his electrifying 167 against Australia in January this year. But overall there is little doubt that with figures of 816 runs from 18 matches at an average of 27.20, Venkatsai Laxman cannot be considered a success in Test matches. But he joins a few others who did not exactly come up trumps in the international arena but were kings of the domestic circuit.

Ajay Sharma. Ashok Malhotra. Brijesh Patel. Ashok Mankad. Arun Lal. Raman Lamba. The six, along with Amarjeet Kaypee, are the leading run getters in the Ranji Trophy. And yet none of them could be termed as a success in international cricket. Arun Lal had 729 runs from 16 Tests at an average of 26.03 with a highest score of 93. Patel played 21 Tests and scored 972 runs at an average of 29.45 with a highest score of 115 not out. Mankad scored 991 runs at an average of 25.41 with a highest score of 97. Malhotra played seven Tests and scored 226 runs at an average of 25.11 with a highest score of 72 not out. Lamba, from four Tests, gathered 102 runs at an average of 20.40 and a highest score of 53. Ajay Sharma played just one Test, scoring 53 runs at an average of 26.50 and with a highest score of 30.

But what a difference their Ranji records make! Malhotra, Patel and Sharma are all in the 7000 run plus category while Arun Lal, Mankad and Lamba are in the 6000 run category. The averages range from 80 plus to 53 plus. Sharma has got 31 hundreds, Patel 26, Mankad 22, Lamba 21, Arun Lal 19, Malhotra 18.

Laxman is certainly the current king of the domestic circuit. In the first place, by scoring 346 not out by stumps on the second day of the Ranji Trophy semifinal between Hyderabad and Karnataka at Bangalore, he became the first player to score two triple hundreds in the national competition. Laxman had made an unbeaten 301 against Bihar in 1997-98. Secondly, the triple hundred was his seventh century in the Ranji Trophy this season. He had already set a record for the competition by notching up his sixth century against Uttar Pradesh earlier this month. Third, he has till date scored 1232 runs in the Ranji Trophy this season and needs only 49 runs more to overhaul Vijay Bhardwaj's record aggregate of 1280, compiled only last season. The semifinal is his eighth match of the season and he has an average of 136.88. Overall, in 36 Ranji Trophy games, the 25-year-old stylist has scored 4161 runs at an average of 90.45. He has 17 hundreds.

His unbeaten 346 means that as on Wednesday, there are only four higher scores in the Ranji Trophy. BB Nimbalkar still heads the list after 51 years, having scored 443 not out for Maharashtra against Kathiawar in 1948-49. The next best is Sanjay Manjrekar's 377 for Bombay against Hyderabad in 1990-91. Hyderabad's MV Sridhar is next on the list with 366 against Andhra in 1993-94. And then comes Vijay Merchant's 359 not out for Bombay against Maharashtra in 1943-44.

Laxman then has everything to play for on Thursday. Bhardwaj's record aggregate beckons, so does Nimbalkar's highest score. The manner in which he is batting - methodical approach, intense concentration, loads of patience and all the strokes - any mark is within his reach. And to think that he could well have one more match - the final - in which to set batting records which, even given the proliferation of games in the Ranji Trophy, will take some beating.