India, May 22 -- There was a time when VVS Laxman was a more feared batter in Australia than Sachin Tendulkar. By 2003, Tendulkar had already become a cult figure not just in India, but across the cricketing world, with his heroics against Australia making fans fall in love with him. For the longest time, no batter came close to dominating Australia, home or away, the way Tendulkar did. But that changed in 2001, when Laxman produced a once-in-a-lifetime knock of 281 in Kolkata. Against a bowling attack featuring Glenn McGrath, Jason Gillespie and Shane Warne, Laxman shattered barriers and showed the world that Australia's invincible side of the early 2000s could indeed be stopped.

One of the bowlers from that attack, Gillespie, is still ...