In the early stages of his innings, he was ably assisted by Akash Chopra, who made a solid 36, but after Chopra's dismissal, VVS Laxman walked out to bat with the scorecard reading 127/4. He started to play some sumptuous shots off back foot, a few flicks with a delectable roll of the wrists, and a characteristic swivel-pull, which signalled that he was going to get a hundred as well. Peter Roebuck wrote of his innings: "Laxman's innings was astonishing. In his hands, a bat becomes a wand...Laxman does not play any ugly shots but he is no mere stylist, for his beauty is innate. He hits the ball hard and with plenty of control and scores quickly because he can and must. He is hard to contain, for he has a wide range of strokes at his disposal and an appetite for big scores. Opponents fear his reach towards the extraordinary." For a man who had been under needless pressure, Laxman's innings was quite soothing and he dominated almost every bowler except Gillespie and MacGill, against whom he scored 7 runs off 24 balls and 14 runs off 40 balls respectively. His end came unexpectedly and almost against the run of play, as he was out slicing a short and wide delivery of MacGill's to Simon Katich, leaving India at a healthy stage of 273/5.