A contest against Australia brought out the best from Indian stalwart VVS Laxman, who announced his retirement a few days ago, says former Aussie pacer Brett Lee, adding such was his domination that the Hyderabadi seemed to score a hundred every time the two teams met.
"VVS Laxman's retirement from international cricket is a big decision. He was one of India's best batsmen and certainly one of the toughest opponents I have faced. Whenever Laxman played against Australia, it brought out the best in him.
"We have seen some exceptional innings over the years from him and he seemed to get a hundred every time he played against Australia," Lee wrote in castrolcricket.
'Watched Laxman's epic 281 on television'
The pacer was full of praise for the counter-attacking 150-plus knock Laxman notched in Sydney, in 2004.
"One innings I particularly recall is the hundred he got against Australia in 2004 at the Sydney Cricket Ground. The match ended in a draw but his innings of 178 was world class," Lee wrote.
India put up a score in excess of 700, thanks to Laxman's knock and Sachin Tendulkar's double hundred, before the match ended in a draw.
Though he was not part of the tourists' line-up in Laxman's magnum opus at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata three years earlier, Lee wrote that he had heard about the innings from his teammates and watched that epic on television.
"Another spectacular innings from him was the one in 2001 (281) versus Australia at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata. He and Rahul Dravid batted all day and helped India win that game," he wrote.
"I missed the tour with a broken elbow, but from what I watched on television and what I heard from the guys who played against him, they told me that it was impossible to get him out that day."
'I want to congratulate VVS Laxman on a fantastic cricketing career'
Lee said he totally agrees with his one-time captain Steve Waugh's quotes about Laxman. 'If you get Dravid, great. If you get Sachin, brilliant. But if you get Laxman, it's a miracle.'
"He has a handy technique and he has this amazing ability to pull the ball off his legs for four from any angle," Lee wrote.
The Aussie bowler also mentioned that his rivalry with Laxman commenced during the duo's under-19 days.
"I want to congratulate VVS Laxman on a fantastic cricketing career. It is obviously a big call when you hang up your boots as I found out over the last couple of months," he added.
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