The Kolkata Test was my first posting in five years. It was also my final year as an umpire, and I was grateful that the Board had thought of rewarding my work with a farewell game at Eden Gardens, an extraordinary ground.

It produced a contest between Australia, the most attractive team in the world, and India, an emerging force with some of the world’s most amazing talent. Australia had won 16 Tests in a row, and that amazing run was halted by India in what is rightly termed an epic. As far as I am concerned, it was the greatest cricket match I had ever watched, and to have stood in it as an umpire was God’s gift to me.

After India was asked to follow-on and faced certain defeat at the end of the third day, almost everyone had accepted that India had already lost. When would the match end? Nobody knew, but everyone was saying, “We’ve lost.” But what can I tell you? Oh my God! How did those two, V.V.S Laxman and Rahul Dravid, play? They did something incredible against that powerful Australia, a combination that made every other team in the world tremble. Believe me, even a World XI team would lose against Australia.

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Laxman and Dravid entertained the cricket world with their stunning batting, scoring 335 runs on the fourth day without being separated. What batting from Laxman! He played cover drives off balls pitched on the leg stump, and stepped out repeatedly to on-drive a bowler like Shane Warne. It was a sight for the Gods when he would rock back and cover-drive the likes of Glenn McGrath. There was hardly any effort in Laxman slamming the Australian bowlers.

Dravid was a picture of resilience, supporting Laxman and defying the Australian attack like only he could. I can’t recall any discomfort in Dravid’s batting as he took charge and indulged in a mesmerising jugalbandi with Laxman. These two Indian batsmen completely neutralised everything. They batted in such a way that the bowlers couldn’t understand where to bowl, where to field, or what to do. A bowler like McGrath, who was unmatched and bowled with pinpoint accuracy, failed to make a dent on the fourth day. It was a rare sight when Australia started bowling a negative line. At one point, I politely cautioned Jason Gillespie against pursuing it.

To tell you the truth, my life was on the line. I had to stand there with my eyes wide open, more than double, four times wider, for every ball. I didn’t want any decision to be wrong. The players were also happy, and afterwards, all our decisions were reviewed four times by the third umpire and the Match Referee. Everything was checked, both teams were satisfied, and only then did I hand over the scorecard. And what a match!

In fact, McGrath struck Dravid’s pads twice in succession. There was such a strong appeal for both of them. There were 1,00,000 inside the ground and 1,00,000 outside. The applause from outside was louder than the applause inside. I gave both of them not out. They reviewed those two decisions four to six times, even after the match. When the match referee (Cameron Smith) came to me after lunch and said, “Beautiful decision, I’m very happy,” with a slight smile, I had won my finest appreciation.

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I always believed, “If there is any doubt in the umpire’s mind, then a doubtful decision always goes in favour of the batsman. It’s not like if it’s this batsman, it will go in his favour, and if it’s another batsman, then it won’t. And when there was no doubt in my mind, how could I give him out? When in doubt, always give NOT OUT.”

Harbhajan Singh played a big role in the team’s win. He was simply incredible. Initially, in his first four to five overs, 27 to 28 runs were scored. He was sweating profusely. But he changed the game with that hat-trick.

The next day, when I came to the airport, I brought one of the stumps as a souvenir. It was a prized possession. But it wouldn’t fit into the check-in bag. They don’t allow cricket stumps, bats, or hockey sticks as cabin baggage. Surprisingly, I was allowed to carry it with me. I know it was against the rules, but the mood everywhere was euphoric. I received an ovation inside the aircraft when it was announced that I was one of the umpires for the Kolkata Test. The stump sits proudly in my drawing room.

The sweetest moment of the match for me was watching Laxman on the back foot, eyes focused, and playing some divine cover drives against top-class bowling. I haven’t seen such good bowling. The balls were just an inch away from the wicket, but let me tell you, these two batsmen played flawless cricket.

(As told to Vijay Lokapally)

Published on Mar 15, 2026