Vangipurapu Venkata Sai Laxman is an Indian former international cricketer and a former cricket commentator and pundit. A right-handed batsman known for his elegant stroke play, Laxman played as a middle-order batsman in Test cricket. Laxman is currently the Head of Cricket at the National Cricket Academy (NCA), and the head coach of the India Under-19 and India A teams. Laxman was a member of the Indian team that was one of the joint-winners of the 2002 ICC Champions Trophy, which the title was also shared with Sri Lanka.
The Border–Gavaskar Trophy(BGT) is an International Test cricket trophy played between India and Australia. The series is named after distinguished former captains, Australia's Allan Border and India's Sunil Gavaskar. It is played via Test series scheduled using International Cricket Council's Future Tours Programme. The winner of a Test series wins the trophy. If a series is drawn, the country holding the trophy retains it. Given the competitive nature of the India-Australia rivalry and the high standings of both teams, the Border-Gavaskar trophy is considered to be one of the most prestigious bilateral trophies in 5-day cricket.
The Indian cricket team toured Zimbabwe for cricket matches in August and September 2005. The Indians played in the Videocon Tri-Series in Zimbabwe, winning three of five matches but losing the final to finish second in the three-team tournament, and they played Zimbabwe for two Test matches in September 2005. The hosts Zimbabwe were ninth out of ten teams in the ICC Test Championship, with their last win against the top eight Test nations coming in June 2001, against India. They did not manage to win a match here either, as India, led by the performances of fast bowler Irfan Pathan, won the series 2–0 after an innings win in the first Test and a 10-wicket win in the second. India consolidated their third place in the Test championship with the win, which was also their first series win in Zimbabwe in four attempts.
The English cricket team toured India during February, March and April 2006. The English cricket team was aspiring to maintain the form that took them to second place in the ICC Test Championship and helped them to win the 2005 Ashes series at home to Australia. This goal was substantially hindered by an injury to the captain Michael Vaughan; the swing bowler Simon Jones and the absence of Ashley Giles who missed the tour for an operation. As well as this, stand-in captain Marcus Trescothick flew home for "personal reasons", not wishing to divulge further, leaving Andrew Flintoff, who missed the birth of his son, to take on the title of skipper for the first time having to captain two maiden international cricketers on the English side: Alastair Cook and Monty Panesar. Shanthakumaran Sreesanth, Piyush Chawla and Munaf Patel made their debuts for the home team.
The India national cricket team toured Pakistan for cricket matches during the 2005–06 season. Both India and Pakistan had already played Test matches during this season; India were coming off a 2–0 series win at home over Sri Lanka, while Pakistan beat England by the same margin. In ODI cricket, India's last series, in November 2005, ended in a 2–2 draw with South Africa, while Pakistan beat England 3–2 in December 2005. The tour began on 7 January 2006 with India playing Pakistan A in a non-first class game, and continued till 19 February.
The Indian cricket team made its Test cricket debut in 1932 and has since advanced to be among the top four test teams in the in each of 2005 to 2008. The team won the ODI Cricket World Cup in 1983 and 2011. In other major International victories, Team India won the Twenty20 World Cup in 2007 and ICC Champions Trophy in 2002 and 2013.
The Indian cricket team toured South Africa for three Tests, five Odis & one T20I from 16 November 2006 to 6 January 2007.
This Border-Gavaskar Trophy was composed of seven first-class matches, including four Tests. India also participated in an ODI tri-series with Australia and Zimbabwe. The Test series was drawn 1–1, and India retained the Border-Gavaskar Trophy because of their victory in the Trophy's previous contest. In the 2003–04 series' Adelaide Test, Rahul Dravid scored a double century, securing a famous win for India. Sachin Tendulkar scored 241* in Sydney, which up until that point in his career was his highest score in a Test match. Captain Sourav Ganguly made his first test century against Australia, a 144 in Brisbane that gave his team a lead of 86 after they were in trouble. VVS Laxman played consistently well throughout this series, most notably his contribution in the Adelaide test is well remembered. This series was also the last for Steve Waugh, who had captained Australia to a record equalling 16 consecutive test match victories and had 41 victories in 57 Tests.
The Indian cricket team toured Sri Lanka in August 1997, participating in two Test matches and three One Day International (ODI) matches. During the first Test match, Sri Lanka scored 952 runs for 6 wickets, the highest team total in Test cricket. Several more records were established in this match, including the highest partnership for the second wicket by Sanath Jayasuriya and Roshan Mahanama. The Test series ended without a result, with both Test matches drawn.
The India national cricket team toured England from 19 July to 8 September 2007. The tour included 3 Tests and 7 ODIs. During the Test series, the Pataudi Trophy, a prize commissioned by the MCC to commemorate the 118th anniversary of India's Test debut, was competed for. This was designed and created by Jocelyn Burton, Holborn, London.
The Indian national cricket team toured Australia in the 1999–2000 season. They played 3 Test matches losing all the three of them. They played 8 One Day Internationals as part of the Carlton & United Series against Pakistan and Australia.
The Indian cricket team began a tour of Australia in December 2007, playing the 4 match Test series for the Border Gavaskar Trophy, followed by a single Twenty20 match on 1 February 2008. They also participated in the Commonwealth Bank tri-series against Australia and Sri Lanka from 3 February to 4 March.
The Second Test in the Indian cricket team's tour of Australia for the 2007–08 summer was a Test cricket match played over five days at the Sydney Cricket Ground from 2 to 6 January 2008. Australia won the match by 122 runs with minutes to spare at the end of the fifth day.
The Australian cricket team toured India from 27 September to 10 November 2008 and played four test matches, for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. During the second test match in Mohali Sachin Tendulkar became the first person to make 12,000 runs in Test cricket breaking Brian Lara's record of 11,953 runs. Sachin described "It is definitely the biggest achievement in 19 years of my career" on the day he achieved the record. India's 320 run victory in the second test match was also their biggest win against Australia in terms of runs, eclipsing the 222-run victory that came in Melbourne in 1977 and their biggest test win ever in terms of runs. In the first innings of the third test match in Delhi, Gautam Gambhir and V. V. S. Laxman became the first Indian players to both score a double century in a test innings. This series also witnessed the last Tests of two Indian cricketers – Anil Kumble and Sourav Ganguly.
The Second Test in the Australian cricket team's tour of India in early 2001 was a Test match played over five days at Eden Gardens in Kolkata from 11–15 March 2001. India won the match by 171 runs after being forced to follow-on, only the third time this has happened since Test cricket began in 1877.
The 2003 Cricket World Cup Final was a One Day International (ODI) match played on 23 March 2003 at the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg. It marked the culmination of the 2003 Cricket World Cup, the eighth edition of the tournament. It was the first time these two teams had met at this stage of a World Cup. For defending champions Australia it was their fifth World Cup final, while for India it was the second after their 1983 victory. Australia won the match by 125 runs to claim the title for the third time.
The Indian cricket team toured Australia from 15 December 2011 to 28 February 2012. The tour included four Tests to contest the Border–Gavaskar Trophy, two Twenty20s (T20Is), and eight ODIs as part of the Commonwealth Bank Tri-Series which also involved Sri Lanka.
The India national cricket team toured the West Indies from 28 February to 3 May 1997. They played five Test matches and four One Day Internationals (ODI) against the West Indies.
The Australian cricket team toured India from February to April 1998 for a three Test series and an ODI tri-series featuring Australia, India and Zimbabwe.
The 1997–98 Coca-Cola Triangular Series was a One Day International cricket tournament held in India in May 1998. It was a tri-nation series between Bangladesh, India and Kenya. India defeated Kenya in the final to win the tournament.
