Watch: Pakistani Speedstar Shoaib Akthar uproots VVS Laxman stumps

Watch: Pakistani Speedstar Shoaib Akthar uproots VVS Laxman stumps: Shoaib Akhtar was one of the world’s fastest bowler ever. His pace was effective enough to take any batsman by surprise. His exploits against Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid in 1999 at the Eden Gardens made him a household name across India.

VVS Laxman too in the coming years would go on to become an Indian batting mainstay in the Test format at the back of his epic 281 against Australia at the Eden Gardens earned him accolades across the globe.

Laxman and Akhtar both had become established cricketers by the 2003/04 season. While Akhtar had become a menace for his opponents in both Tests and ODIs, Laxman couldn’t quite convert his Test form to ODIs.

Due to political reasons, there wasn’t a lot of bilateral cricket between these two Asian heavyweights for a few years. In 2004 the 5 year wait came to an end as India toured Pakistan for the first time since 1997/98 for an ODI series.

The series was as exciting as everyone expected it to be. India had won a thriller in Karachi and then Pakistan had come back to win the next two games to make the series 2-1. India had to win this 4^th ODI if they wanted to stay in the series. Pakistan had given a daunting target of 294 to India after batting first.

Sehwag had made a quick start but Shoaib had claimed the prized wicket of Sachin Tendulkar. Laxman came in at number three and made a brisk 20 off 17 balls and it looked like he and would take India to safety. Shoaib Akhtar though had other plans. “Expect the unexpected” was probably the mantra of his career. Out of nowhere, he bowled this ripper of a delivery to dismiss Laxman and unsettle the Indian top order but the able hands of Rahul Dravid with some support from Yuvraj Singh and Mohammed Kaif guided India to a comfortable win as India went on to level the series 2-2.