Calcutta: Be in no doubt that when V.V.S. Laxman comes to play at the Eden, get ready for some amazing things to happen. Five years ago, the stylish Hyderabad batsman’s second-innings knock of 281 — which helped India halt the Steve Waugh-led Australian juggernaut — is now part of cricketing folklore. On Saturday, he didn’t contrive to any such fightback, but his South Zone team did.

Arjun Yadav, whose claim to fame has so far been little except being Shivlal Yadav’s son, scripted a Laxman-like revival against Sri Lanka A in their Duleep Trophy match and helped his team finish at 266 from the precarious position of 14 for five.

Yadav remained unbeaten on 133 (190 balls, 4x13, 6x4) and his last-wicket stand with Pragyan Ojha, which yielded 75 runs, was typical of the 25-year-old’s resolve and fighting spirit through his innings. The islanders were 36 for one at stumps.

Ever since Dinesh Karthik (5) and Robin Uthappa (6) started the innings, panic button was pressed in the South dressing room as Akalanka Ganegama single-handedly destroyed their top-order. Laxman (3), Venugopal Rao (0) and Ambati Rayudu (0) departed in no time as the Sri Lankan took full advantage of the Eden’s early moisture.

However, Yadav had other intentions as he stitched 66 runs with S. Badrinath (48) for the sixth wicket, which marked the beginning of South’s startling recovery. True, as the day wore, the pitch lost its early life, but that in no way should take the credit away from South’s lower-order.

Sreesanth (19), Kaushik Reddy (26) and Ojha (12) all contributed in their inimitable dogged style. What was more significant was that they decided to play a grafter’s role and not exhibit anything flashy.