India, July 27 -- Every time India are in a pitched batting battle to salvage a near lost cause, the mind invariably drifts to Eden Gardens, the theatre of dreams, where VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid orchestrated one of Test cricket's most celebrated fightbacks. Having swapped places in the batting order from the first innings, the stylist from Hyderabad and the technician from Bengaluru put on 376 for the fifth wicket, a partnership that overturned a 274-run deficit and set the stage for a remarkable 171-run defeat of Steve Waugh's all-conquering Australia in 2001.

On Sunday, another technician from Bengaluru, Dravid's first-namesake, and a stylist from Punjab will be tasked with steering the Indian ship to safe shores on the final day of...