Mumbai, Dec 19: Former Australia captain Steve Waugh once told his bowlers ahead of a Test series against India, “If you get [Rahul] Dravid, great. If you get [Sachin] Tendulkar, brilliant. But if you get [VVS] Laxman, it’s a miracle”. It’s amazing that a man who has evoked such awe and fear in the dreaded Aussie camp over the years epitomises grace and calmness.

By his own admission, playing against the Aussies always brings out the best in VVS Laxman. The numbers support the fact. Out of Laxman’s 17 Test centuries, six have come against the Australians and four while taking them on in their own backyard. Five of his top seven scores in Test cricket, including the highest of 281, have been scored while surrounded by baggy greens. Laxman’s overall average of 49.58 shoots up to 54.76 in Australia; he averages 48.85 at home.

VVS is now determined to conquer the biggest dream of his sparkling career – a Test series triumph Down Under. Here’s what he said before leaving for the tour in an exclusive interview with bcci.tv.

How has the preparation for the big tour been?

The series against West Indies has boosted the confidence of the entire team going into this series. Playing Australia in Australia is a huge challenge and it has been our biggest dream to beat them in their own land. Even though we’ve won Tests there, we’ve never managed to win a series. This time we have a great chance to correct that and if I can make a significant contribution to the team’s victory, I’ll be very satisfied.

Do you support the general notion that this is India’s best chance to secure that elusive series win in Australia?

Even in 2003-‘04 and 2007-‘08 we went there believing we could win the series but we couldn’t cross the finish line in Sydney and Adelaide respectively. This time, too, if we get our basics right, we can definitely beat the Australians.

You have a history with Australia that very few top-class batsmen can boast of. How would you describe it?

I’ve always enjoyed playing against Australia, right since my junior cricket days. I first toured Australia for an Under-19 series in 1994 and ended up as the highest scorer of the series. Since then, I’m really happy to have performed consistently against them. I’ve always enjoyed batting on the Australian tracks because the bounce and pace there suits my game more than [that of] the subcontinental tracks. I hope to continue the good run.

What is it about the Aussies that gets you going?

The way they play their cricket brings out the best not only in me but the entire team. If you see our recent history, every time we’ve played the Aussies we’ve taken our game a notch higher than when we play against the other teams. Their aggression and never-say-die attitude always gets the best out of us. That’s the reason why India is probably the only team to have challenged the Aussies and put them under pressure when they were the undisputable leaders in world cricket.

It all began with that historic 2001 home series. Would you say that was a watershed moment in Indian cricket?

The entire series was very significant to our growth as a team. Individually, I obviously took a lot of inspiration from that knock [281 in Kolkata]. The series also changed our mindset as a team. That win gave us the belief that we can beat any side in the world, because the 2001 Australian team was probably the most formidable side we’ve all played against. They had won 16 consecutive Tests and they called India their final frontier. To win the Kolkata Test after being asked to follow on, and then to win the series, told us that no matter how badly we’re pushed to the wall, we can bounce back and win. And since that series, we have time and again won games from hopeless situations.

This will be the first Test tour to Australia for as many as 10 Indian players. What would be their biggest challenges?

I think it will be a great experience for all of them. My first tour to Australia was in 1999-‘00 and even though it was a disastrous one from the team’s point of view, we [the youngsters] gained a lot from the tour. It gave us the exposure and the experience to become better cricketers. I’m sure it will be a great learning [experience] for the youngsters in the present team and I also firmly believe that they all have the potential to deliver on their first trip to Australia itself.

What are your thoughts on the Australian side that you’ll be facing in this series? Let’s start with their batting.

They’ve got a good mixture of seniors and youngsters. The batting order is still a formidable one with the likes of Ricky Ponting, Michael Clarke, Michael Hussey and Shane Watson. Brad Haddin too has seen a lot of us. Perhaps Usman Khawaja at No.3 is the only significant change.

How do you rate their young bowling attack?

Their bowling attack, full of rookies, is an especially exciting part of their current team. I haven’t played any of their current lot of bowlers except Mitchell Johnson, who’s not playing this series. I’m looking forward to the experience of playing the new crop of Australian bowlers. Like us, the Aussies too would be really pumped up about this series because many believe, after the Ashes, the India-Australia Test series is the most sought-after contest.