At the start of play on Day 4, the scoreboard read India were 254 for 4, still needing 20 runs to make Australia bat again. Laxman had looked in solid touch – caressing the ball with his usual heavenly timing. He was the last batsman to fall in the first innings for a robust 59, and was sent out in No. 3 in the second innings and by the end of the third day, Laxman was battling away on 109. His partner in crime, Dravid was going through a rare woeful patch. The three innings in the series prior to this had yielded a meagre 73 runs, a struggle streching across 407 dreary deliveries. The strike rate of a paltry 17.94 confirmed his lacklustre form. But mathematics, and form, and track record seemed trivial things on a day two men with unquestionable potential chose to rewrite the usual order in cricket.The second session saw the duo bat with greater freedom as the runs started to flow. Shane Warne reverted to his usual fourth day ploy of pitching into the rough, and letting his wrists do the talking. But if anybody’s wrists made its presence felt, it was Laxman’s. VVS’s resounding confidence came to the fore when he opted to dance down the track and dispatch deliveries pitched outside the leg-stump through the extra cover region. For the sake of breaking the monotony, Laxman was equally severe on Warney through the on-side, as he sent the ball racing past the mid-wicket region with equal ease. Same result. Only one result infact. Steve Waugh needed a wicket from somewhere. The source didn’t matter. Mark Waugh couldn’t break their rhythm. Ricky Ponting tried, so did Matthew Hayden, but for all his built, taking wickets was something he would suck at even as a night job. Justin Langer, Michael Slater both turned their arm over. Both in vain. Rahul Dravid soon notched up his century and celebrated with his bat thrust in the direction of the press box. Never have I seen Dravid more animated. Never has that aggression surfaced in the manner that it did. It meant that much, for Dravid’s confidence, and for Indian cricket’s. TThe Eden crowd had witnessed something spectacular. Something that may never be repeated in cricket folklore. The score stood at 589 for 4. The lead was 315.