VVS Laxman’s historical innings of 281 against Australia at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata has been rated as the greatest Test performance of the last 50 years. The honour was accorded to the Hyderabad stylist’s fabulous series-turning knock after India trailed by 274 runs on the first innings, by his fellow-players, commentators and journalists in a poll published in the January issue of ESPN’s digital magazine the Cricket Monthly.

Laxman, promoted to no. 3 after his first innings’ 59 out of a team score of 171, came up with his magical innings and also added 376 runs for the fifth wicket with Rahul Dravid (180). In his tribute, one of seven by participants in the Test, leg spin legend Shane Warne recalls: “I was bowling in the footmarks and Laxman was hitting the same ball through cover or whipping it through mid wicket. It was so hard to bowl then.”

The surprising and controversial part of the top 50 list is that none of Sachin Tendulkar’s 51 Test hundreds have been considered worth making the list while David Gower’s feat of scoring 72 and 28 for England in the Ashes Test at Perth has got the 32nd rank.

West Indian batting great Brian Lara has the most entries in the list of 50, with four, including the No. 4: the nerveless 153 not out versus Australia in Barbados in 1999. Ian Botham, who has three entries in the 50, comes in with two in the top five: the dazzling all-round shows in the Headingley Ashes Test of 1981 (No. 2) and the Golden Jubilee Test in Bombay (now Mumbai) the previous year (No. 5).

That’s a Classic Match!!!