Laxman rediscovers touch,a touch too late for the Test

By the end of each of those innings,Laxmans face had taken on a feverish look. The hands eventually reached out and poked,or swished. Cue the edge and the lonely walk back.

Now,Michael Clarke brought on Nathan Lyon. Laxman would face spin,for the first time in the series. He drove the first ball to cover for two and defended the next four. To the last ball,landing a touch shorter,he went deep in his crease and gave that famous pair of wrists a workout. Making contact with bat outside off stump,the ball thudded into the advertising fence behind the square leg rope.

For Laxman,more than any other batsman,perhaps,an early boundary is like a squirt of oxygen. The breathing becomes even,the feet start moving that crucial inch further and the hands stop twitching.

That boundary was soon followed by three more,a cover drive off Siddle and two off Lyon with markedly different finishes to his batswing,no more than a push against the paceman and a glorious,swooping flourish against the spinner.

In this vein Laxman continued. The placement,the most reliable indicator of Laxman feeling good about his game,was inch-perfect that dab just behind square leg for one,that punch in front of cover for two.

It was the latter stroke,off Siddle,that brought up Laxmans fifty,and the over brought two more scoring shots,another double,steered just wide of gully,and a blistering pull for four. At his favourite venue apart from the Eden Gardens,perhaps the touch was returning,and the doubts were clearing. At 66,he got an unplayable delivery,and left the SCG for the final time.

Harsher critics might say he should have played that ball with a straighter bat or pushed his front foot closer to the ball. But this is the way Laxman has batted right through his career. Neither of those errors were indicative of any age-related deterioration in his game.

Promise vs proven class

The innings,however,was part of Indias sixth successive away defeat,all by thumping margins. A question that the team management might ponder,at this low ebb in fortunes,is whether its better to lose with an ageing middle order or to blood a younger batsman or two without any pressure on them to deliver results straightaway.

Rohit Sharma is a name that has knocked the proverbial door persistently over this tour. Virat Kohli is a name that has a lot of faith invested in it. The latter could well make way for the former at Perth,considering how poor his scores have been in the first two Tests.

But the remaining two Tests could also be used as a platform to show a little more faith in Kohli and really test out a potentially long-term middle-order combination,moving one of them to number three,perhaps. This might mean that Rahul Dravid or Laxman misses out. Of the two,Dravid has just ended a year as Test crickets top run-getter and,at number three,still represents a formidable challenge for any attack to dismiss. Laxman has a less watertight technique and Australia might continue leaving grass on their wickets.

The other view is equally compelling. If Rohit has to come in at Perth,Kohli will have to make way on form. He has done little abroad to merit retention,without even a half century in five away Tests. His time can come later.

With two Tests still remaining,moreover,the Indians cannot let go of the thought of levelling the series however far-fetched it might seem at this point and retaining the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. For that to happen,Laxman with form and happy memories of Perth and Adelaide must remain in the side. Promise cannot dislodge proven class that easily. It wasnt long ago that Shaun Marsh looked more certain of his place in Australias lineup than Mike Hussey and Ricky Ponting.