Stylish batsman VVS Laxman's epic 281 may be part of the cricketing folklore but former India skipper Sourav Ganguly on Wednesday said the knock actually 'saved his career'.
Shaken by the match-fixing scandal, Indian cricket was going through a turbulent time at the start of the 21st century when Sourav Ganguly took charge of the team.
Trailing 0-1 after their loss in Mumbai, India were looking down the barrel and were asked to follow-on in the Kolkata Test but Laxman's 281 and Rahul Dravid's 180 in a 376-run fifth wicket partnership set the tone for an epic 171-run win.
The win also halted the Steve Waugh-led side's record 16 consecutive victories, giving a new direction to the Ganguly-led Team India.
So when the Hyderabadi batsman chose to write his autobiography, '281 and Beyond', the title of the book was a no-brainer.
But Ganguly was a tad disappointed with the title, he said in a lighter vein.
"I also texted him a month back but he didn't reply," Ganguly said at the Kolkata leg of the book launch.
"I told him it was not the apt title... It should have been '281 and beyond and that saved Sourav Ganguly's career'," the former India captain said.
"I strongly opposed the title because if he had not scored 281, we would have lost the Test and I would not have been captain again," a modest Ganguly said.
The programme was also attended by his former India pace spearhead Zaheer Khan.
