This is only the beginning: V V S Laxman

His stupendous success against the strong Australian team is only the beginning, says India's new Test star Vangipurappu Venkata Sai Laxman.

Promising not to be complacent, the Hyderabadi batsman, propelled to the top league after his 281 in the memorable Calcutta Test, said, "This success of mine is only a base on which I have to build up a career".

Laxman, who topped the batting averages for India in both the Test and one-day series, said batting at his natural number three position had made all the difference.

"I was not very comfortable opening the innings. I always had the feeling that I was trying to do something which I'm not really made for," he explained.

Before this series, Laxman was tried as an opener without much success except for the brilliant 167 in the third Test against Australia in Sydney during India's disastrous tour Down Under in 1999-2000.

But accepting his failures gracefully and consistently learning from his mistakes is what has characterised Laxman and kept him going.

His hard work paid off when he was able to score prolifically in the one-dayers too, capping his performance with his maiden century.

"I am very happy with the century, but I would have been happier had we won (the fifth one-dayer and the series). It was a difficult wicket to bat on and I proved that I had the one-day stuff in me," he said.

Earlier Laxman had struggled in one-dayers, scoring just 86 runs from 13 matches, and admitted having his past failures at the back of his mind while going to bat against the Aussies.

"I tried to push it [the failures] back and work for a better score," said Laxman who aggregated 281 runs in the five-match one-day series at an average of 56.20.

The maturing of Laxman has not come a minute too early for the Indian team which depended too heavily on Sachin Tendulkar. And it involved deep commitment, lot of hard work and immense doggedness from the youngster who was dubbed the King of Domestic Cricket with a shade of malice.

Big scores in domestic cricket had almost become a habit for the shy and lanky Laxman who had absolutely no idea of competitive cricket till he was selected for a coaching camp as an 11-year-old boy.

He timed his arrival in the big league to perfection and against a side that many believed was invincible, carrying as it was a world record winning streak of 16 Test matches.

It was not only the batting order but many other things too that played a role in Laxman's blossoming as the new Mr Dependable of the Indian team.

"The computer analysis of every ball we played, during the post-match session, helped me a lot to know my strengths and weaknesses," he said while crediting coach John Wright with giving him the right advice and keeping his faith in him.

"His assurance by telling me how good a player I was had given me the right confidence much needed by me at that time," he noted.

Of course, there was the inspiration from his parents and other family members. Laxman greatly cherishes the three dicta of 'self-belief, fearlessness and positive approach' inculcated in him by his father.

All those teachings have stood him in good stead and his tidy and compact drawing room is now full of mementos, flowers and bouquets among photographs of Sai Baba and Lord Ganesha.

Laxman, in his early days, worshipped Sunil Gavaskar, Mohammed Azharuddin and Vivian Richards, all batsmen of very different styles. "I liked Gavaskar for his temperament and patience, Azhar for his wristy stroke play and Richards for his domination."

Among his current favourites are Tendulkar and Mark Waugh. "It is delightful to watch him [Tendulkar] play. He tries to be as perfect as possible. Next is Mark Waugh and I like him for his elegance."

Among bowlers, he rates Wasim Akram of Pakistan as the best. Back home it is Javagal Srinath, Anil Kumble and his Hyderabad teammates Venkatapathy Raju and Kanwaljit Singh who command his maximum respect.

Having raised the expectations of a billion people, Laxman realises his future is going to be tougher. And one of the things he would surely like to work upon is his running between the wickets.

He got into mix-ups on many an occasion during the series against the Aussies, which resulted in his or his partners' dismissals at crucial junctures.

His next test will be the tour of Zimbabwe in May and then Sri Lanka. Laxman says he will concentrate more on the game and try to give of his best.

Currently he is working on his fitness so that he can give his full attention to batting. "I will try to be as good as I am in the upcoming Zimbabwe series," Laxman says humbly.

Mail Cricket Editor