OK, so Virender Sehwag has two tripple tons against his name. No other Indian has ever done even one. He has the stamina and the audacity to play like that. I doubt if any other Indian batter can better Veeru's record. At least not in the coming few years. And it won't surprise me if Veeru ends up being the only batter having either three or even four tripple tons against his name. Age is on his side and he knows only one way of vielding his willow. Opponents notwithstanding. So it's a given as far as Veeru goes.

But if you ask me, neither of the two tripple tons stands out as the best by an Indian batsman, the all time great knocks... The latest 319 at the somnolent Chennai pitch is just a piece of statistics. The match would have taken perhaps 10 days to get over on that dodo.

The best effort by an Indian, in my opinion has to be 281 by Vangipuruppu Venkata Sai Laxman against Steve Waugh's Aussies at Kolkotta in 2001. India had surrendered meekly to the Aussies in the first test at Mumbai and were 0-1 down in the three test series. We were following on after conceding a first innings lead of over 270 runs at Kolkotta too. And then came that swashbuckling gem of a knock of 281 by VVS that turned not only the match but also the whole series on its head. India went on to pile up a huge total in the second innings and eventually won the match comfortably. And after that shot in the arm, we won the decider at Chennai by two wickets, thus shattering Steve Waugh's dream of conquering the final frontier. No other single innings by an individual has had such a resounding impact on the outcome of any series in the history of Indian cricket. Bouncing back from being 0-1 down against the mighty Aussies to go on to win the series 2-1 is no mean feat. And the credit must go to the lazily elegant, stylish right hander from Hyderabad, VVS Laxman. Hope he gets due recognition from the powers that be of Indian Cricket. It is rather unfortunate that such a talented cricketer has to bat under permanent pressure to prove himself, under the fear of being axed, with the proverbial sword of Democles always hanging over his head...