India, Aug. 11 -- In a cricket team there are phases when everything falls into place. For India the best example is when Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, Virender Sehwag and Sourav Ganguly formed the batting line-up. The start of 2001 marked one of Indian cricket's glorious chapters, with a settled batting line-up as the main strength.

It proved to be an era when everything was set in stone with clearly defined roles. Every player owned a permanent batting number, Sehwag - opener, Dravid at No 3 (occasionally swapping with VVS Laxman who would be at No 6), Tendulkar No 4 and Ganguly at No 5.

The result, starting with the 2001 Eden Gardens epic, was a series of blockbuster batting displays.

After all of them retired, it didn...