Exceptional in trying circumstances

As has been the case so often in recent years, when the rest of the batting folded on a tough pitch against a quality attack, VVS Laxman once again stood firm in Barbados and ensured that India posted a competitive total. Laxman, who in the recent past has anchored tricky chases in Mohali and Colombo, and helped India recover from lost causes in Kolkata and Durban, reached the milestone of 8000 runs in his 201st innings. In contrast with the three other Indian batsmen who have reached the mark, Laxman has been much slower primarily because of a tendency to throw away good starts. While Laxman has been dismissed 39 times for scores between 21 and 40 (20% of total innings played), Sunil Gavaskar and Sachin Tendulkar, the first two Indian batsmen to the 8000-run mark were dismissed in the same range on just 14% of the occasions they batted. Consistency was never Laxman's forte in his early years, and despite becoming far more reliable in the last few years, he has generally reserved his best performances for crunch situations.

Laxman less consistent
Tendulkar, who reached the 8000-run milestone in 2002, has the third-highest average among all batsmen who have more than 8000 runs in Tests. He reached the mark in 154 innings, a record that was recently eclipsed by Kumar Sangakkara, who did so in 152 innings. At the time of reaching the landmark, Tendulkar averaged 57.58 with 29 centuries. Gavaskar, the first Indian to reach the 8000-run mark, had 29 centuries and 35 fifties at that time, but averaged lesser (52.39). Rahul Dravid, who had an average over 57 at the time of reaching the mark, has had a less successful run in the last few years and his average has fallen to just over 52. Laxman, the third-slowest to the mark, has the lowest average (47.05) and the fewest centuries (16) among the four Indian batsmen to have achieved the milestone. In contrast with the conversion rate (ratio of hundreds to fifties) of Tendulkar (0.86) and Gavaskar (0.75), Laxman's corresponding figure is just 0.32. In fact, among all the 22 batsmen who belong in the 8000-run club, only Alec Stewart, with 15, has fewer hundreds, while Laxman's conversion rate is also the lowest. However, one of the reasons for that is he has often batted at Nos. 5 and 6, which has meant he's only had the tail for company through much of his innings.

* Innings, average and 100/50 are considered at the end of the innings when the batsman reached the 8000-run mark

Scoring when it matters the most
Laxman had a very slow start to his Test career after his debut in Ahmedabad against South Africa in 1996-97. He did not score a single century for the next three years and averaged just over 24 in 16 Tests. Eventually, his first hundred came in the third Test of the disastrous Australian tour in 1999-00. Laxman's rapid 167 out of 261 in India's second innings failed to prevent an innings defeat but kickstarted a prolific run. In 2001, Laxman's remarkable 281 at the Eden Gardens rescued India from a near-hopeless situation against Australia. This win after following on was followed by a two-wicket win in the third Test in Chennai in which Laxman scored twin half-centuries. On the 2003-04 tour of Australia, against a much weaker bowling attack, Laxman made two more centuries in Adelaide and Sydney. In 2004, he ended a poor home series against Australia on a high by scoring 69 in the third innings on a turning track in Mumbai which set up India's 13-run win.

In the last two years, Laxman made vital contributions in three of India's best Test wins. While his century in Colombo helped India chase down a tricky target of 257, his superb knocks of 73 and 96 were responsible for India squeezing out wins in Mohali and Durban. Another indication of his improved consistency has been the fact that he has averaged over 62 in 20 Tests since the beginning of 2009.

India's middle-order mainstay
Laxman, with 5139 runs at No.5 and 6, is only the third Indian to score over 5000 runs batting at these two positions after Mohammad Azharuddin and Sourav Ganguly. His average of 50.38 is well above that of Azharuddin's (45.25) and Ganguly's (38.54). Among the top batsmen in these two positions, Steve Waugh has scored the most runs and centuries, but Shivnarine Chanderpaul has the best average. As a consequence of being highly successful at these two vital positions in the middle order, Laxman has forged prolific partnerships for the fourth and fifth wickets. He has aggregated nearly 2700 runs with Tendulkar with eight century stands and over 2000 runs with Dravid with seven century stands. On eight of the 29 occasions that Laxman has been involved in a century stand (batting at No.5 and 6), the score has been less than 100 at the start of the partnership.

Prolific against Australia
Laxman has reserved his finest performances for matches against Australia, and is one of only nine batsmen who have scored over 2000 runs against Australia at an average greater than 50. While Tendulkar and Gavaskar have done quite well against Australia, Dravid has been less successful, and averages just under 36 at home. Laxman averages nearly 45 in England, but has struggled in home games, averaging just over 22 in nine innings. While Gavakar has been exceptional against Pakistan both home and away, both Tendulkar and Laxman have underperformed. Laxman, who had struggled on previous tours of South Africa, did much better this time round, and averages over 40 there. Both Laxman and Dravid, who were part of the Indian team that was bowled out for 81 in Barbados in 1997, have scored over 1000 runs in the West Indies at averages of 45.45 and 67.47 respectively.

Brilliant in the second and third innings
While Tendulkar and Dravid have been superb in the first innings of matches, Laxman and Gavaskar have not quite done as well. Laxman has scored under 24% of his total runs in the first innings of Tests. In the second innings, he averages over 52 with six centuries. His second-innings aggregate is over 37% of his total run tally, the best among the four batsmen. Laxman has also outperformed the other three batsmen in thr third innings, where he has averaged over 56. Gavaskar and Laxman are the two batsmen who have scored over 25% of their runs in the third innings. In the fourth innings, Gavaskar is far ahead of the others. He has scored four centuries and averages 58.25, which is the second-highest average among batsmen with over 1000 runs in the fourth innings in Tests.