Laxman the hero as India pull off stunning victory over Australia

Laxman defied a back injury that forced him to bat with a runner to steer his side home from the brink of defeat with an unbeaten 73 on a turning final-day pitch.

Australia had looked to be cruising to victory after they had reduced Dhoni's side to 124-8 before lunch, with the hosts still needing 92 runs for victory.

The 35-year-old from Hyderabad then essayed a remarkable fightback in the company of Ishant Sharma (31) and powered India to a 1-0 lead in the two-Test Border-Gavaskar series.

It was the second time in as many months Laxman had guided India to victory after he scored an unbeaten 103 in the second innings of the third Test against Sri Lanka in Colombo.

His ability to come up with match-winning knocks on a regular basis was acknowledged by Dhoni, who showered praise on the "remarkable batsman" who batted at No 7 to allow him more time to recover from a back spasm.

"If he (Laxman) is at the crease then, no matter what field you set, he can rotate the strike, hit boundaries and keep the scoreboard ticking. He is a remarkable batsman," said Dhoni.

"He was injured in the first innings but the way he batted in the second was very special."

Laxman added 81 runs for the ninth wicket with Ishant after the team had lost four wickets in the morning session.

Ishant was unluckily adjudged lbw to Ben Hilfenhaus with 11 still required, and while last man Pragyan Ojha survived a close shout when he was also rapped on the pads, India claimed a thrilling success thanks to Laxman.

Dhoni also showered praise on bowlers including man-of-the-match Zaheer Khan, who took 8-137 and reached the 250-wicket mark in his 73rd Test.

Dhoni also expressed surprise over the overtly cautious approach of Australia batsmen in the first innings.

Australia captain Ricky Ponting gave full credit to India for "fighting it out" in one of the most thrilling matches he had played.

"It's one of the best, most exciting Test matches I've played in my life and I've played nearly 150 now and this one is right up there with the best," said the visiting captain.

"Full credit to India for gutting it out and fighting it out and winning the way they did. We weren't good enough to get across the line."

Ponting added: "Coming off a long break as we were and then to play as well as we did in this Test was quite satisfying.

"We gave it a really good shake and came up just a little bit short."